Published in the Houston Chronicle by cartoonist Nick Anderson this past week, this political cartoons seek to make a mockery of recent events surroundings the release of Sony Pictures The Interview. This cartoon seeks to make these points in response to several issues that have entered the national spotlight recently, concerning matters of international cyber warfare, and speculation concerning the growing role of North Korea in international acts of espionage. Specifically, this cartoon was created in response to the ongoing situation surrounding Seth Rogen and James Franco's political comedy, The Interview, in which the film's main characters assassinate Kim Jong Un.
Specifically, the artist's purpose behind the cartoon is to illustrate the degree to which political speculation and media frenzy around the "hot topic" of North Korea creates false perceptions of reality based on little more than baseless speculation and minuscule supportive evidence
It does this by depicting Kim Jong Un as a planet adrift in the cosmos, smiling broadly as the American media frenzy works towards his favor. In depicting Kim Jong Un as a planet, with a proportional gravitational pull, the cartoon evokes several important ideas, all of which are intentional. The first, and perhaps the most significant, is that it indicates the negative impact of the 24-hour news cycle, and the overall damaging nature of the "media frenzy" that comes to surround major international events. By showing a world leader as a planet, the artist provides a comical example of a very real issue; the inflationary effect of our media obsession with North Korea and the nature of the media frenzy in general.
Specifically, the artist's purpose behind the cartoon is to illustrate the degree to which political speculation and media frenzy around the "hot topic" of North Korea creates false perceptions of reality based on little more than baseless speculation and minuscule supportive evidence
It does this by depicting Kim Jong Un as a planet adrift in the cosmos, smiling broadly as the American media frenzy works towards his favor. In depicting Kim Jong Un as a planet, with a proportional gravitational pull, the cartoon evokes several important ideas, all of which are intentional. The first, and perhaps the most significant, is that it indicates the negative impact of the 24-hour news cycle, and the overall damaging nature of the "media frenzy" that comes to surround major international events. By showing a world leader as a planet, the artist provides a comical example of a very real issue; the inflationary effect of our media obsession with North Korea and the nature of the media frenzy in general.
Overall the cartoon effectively achieves its purpose of offering a commentary on the state of the American media structure, the wrongful nature of American media's obsession with international politics, and providing a unique, most likely unconsidered take on the recent politically motivated tensions across the globe in the form of the artists suggestion that the gravitational pull of North Korea has led to harmful media speculation. It achieves these purposes through the use of a single rhetorical device; the depiction of Kim Jong Un as a planet, not a world leader. Most political cartoons are brief in their textual offerings, while others rely on no words at all. This cartoon is effective at achieving its purpose because it allows the reader to clearly grasp so much from a single, easily understood reference.
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