TOW #24: Visual Text Analysis

As tensions flared once again this month in the St. Louis, Missouri Suburb of Ferguson, political cartoonists once again turned to the Midwestern town for comedic inspiration. In this comic, four locations are depicted, each being described as a "police state that suppresses journalists." While three of the locations are longtime, well known violators of journalistic freedom rights, the fourth plays off of current events to juxtapose an ongoing domestic situation with a number of less relevant, but equally comparable examples.

This comic, as published in The Week several weeks ago, is directed towards the educated masses of the American public. This is the case due to the fact that this publication's primary audience resides in the United States, and international publications of this publication are scant. It is directed more specifically towards the educated American public because the primary audience for a publication such as this would be politically conscious, liberally opinionated, highly-educated individuals. While this comic in and of itself is easily understandable, much of the content published in The Week is aimed at this sort of an intellectual audience. It is important to understand who the intended audience for this sort of a political cartoon is, as that viewership plays a large role in determining the sort of rhetoric that the comic makes use of.

In so far as this rhetoric is concerned, the comparisons being made between Ferguson, Mo. and the international hotbeds of human rights violations it is contrasted against is blatant, but nuanced. While the comic can easily be taken at face value,  as a visual text showing a domestic occurrence of a mostly-international issue, the level of nuance that the comic features are worthy of discussion, Perhaps the most interesting trait of this comic is the harsh way in which Ferguson is depicted, even compared to active dictatorships and war zones around the globe.

Comparatively, Ferguson is visually far more assaultive to the viewer than the other panels; Syria shows a bombed building, Iran is a sleepy old man in front of a temple, and North Korea is a row of soldiers in step, but Ferguson is the only panel to show actual violence, and the only to depict a civilian facing the repercussions of the censorship taking place. In showcasing this, the artist most likely wants to convey that the atrocities in Ferguson are perhaps even worse than those being committed across the globe, because in Ferguson, there are strict guidelines and legal infrastructure that prevent these sorts of abuse from taking place. In depicting Ferguson more violently than the other locations, the artist effectively accomplishes the above purpose.