Political Cartoons

Year 4 DHP ACE T1W9 - 10

What is a political cartoon?

Political Cartoons: Pictures with a Point
A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes
a point about a political issue or event.
Political cartoons can be very funny,
especially if you understand the issue that
theyre commenting on.
Their main purpose, though, is not to
amuse you but to persuade you.

Look at the political cartoons below: What is their message?

How do political cartoonists convey

their messages?
Refer to your handout Political cartoons
analysis guide
1. Symbolism

Cartoonists use simple objects, or symbols, to

stand for larger concepts or ideas.
After you identify the symbols in a cartoon,
think about what the cartoonist intends each
symbol to stand for.

How does the cartoonist use symbolism

in the cartoons below?
What does the plane
symbolise in this cartoon
about the war in Iraq?

What does the eagle

symbolise in this 1898
cartoon?

2. Exaggeration

Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the physical

characteristics of people or things in order to make a point.
When you study a cartoon, look for any characteristics that
seem overdone or overblown.

What is
exaggerated in the
cartoon here?

3. Labelling
Cartoonists often label objects or people to
make it clear exactly what they stand for.
What is clearly labelled
in the cartoon here?
What is the authors
viewpoint regarding the
genocide in Darfur?
What other techniques
besides labelling are
used here?

4. Analogy
An analogy is a comparison between two unlike things that share
some characteristics. By comparing a complex issue or situation
with a more familiar one, cartoonists can help their readers see
it in a different light.

What is the analogy

that the author is
drawing here?
What situations are
being compared?
1. Socrates death by
popular vote by
Athenians in 399BC
2. German popular
vote that puts Hitler
in power in 1933
3. Iraqis voting for
their government in
2005.

5. Irony
Irony is the difference between the ways things are
and the way things should be, or the way things
are expected to be.

In the authors opinion,

what is ironic about the
sentiments that radical
Muslims are expressing
about the cartoons of the
Prophet Muhammad?

What other techniques are

used in this cartoon?

Try analysing the cartoons below about

school desegregation in the US in 1960s
Some background to help you
understand the cartoons:
Before the 1950s, public schools in the
United Schools were segregated i.e.
white students and black students went to
separate schools.
In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled that
schools in the US were to be
desegregated i.e. white and black
students were to be educated together.

The impetus behind the school integration

movement was the realisation that schools for
black children were badly funded, and that black
children were being disadvantaged by the
segregation of schools.
Although school integration was aimed at
promoting more equal outcomes and improving
the quality of education for African-Americans,
what happened in reality was that the pace of
change/improvement remained very slow, and
there was white flight i.e. white people started
leaving the public school system, choosing to
enroll their children in expensive (and often allwhite) private schools, thus depriving public
schools of funding, and defeating the purpose of
school desegregation.

Groupwork 20m

1)
2)

In your prior presentation groups of 5 6

people:
Draw a political cartoon about
globalisation
Provide short explanations about the
techniques used in your cartoon. Use
your handout Political cartoons analysis
guide to help you.

Deadline: T2W1