Text: “Oval office redecoration includes this awesome new floor covering. Check it out…”
“He got a prayer rug!!!”
Cartoonist: Luckovich
Appeared in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsweek - September 13, 2010
Luckovich’s cartoon addresses two important news articles at the time of publication: the redecoration of the Oval Office and the popular myth that Obama is Muslim. In the first frame, Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, suggests that Obama take a closer look at the famous new rug. In the second frame, wide-eyed citizens peeping through Obama’s window believe that the president is praying, when he is only examining the new oval office rug. On further examination, one notices that the main man looking through the window is a tea-partier, because of the teabag dangling from his patriotic, tri-cornered hat.
Though a reputable publication, Newsweek certainly has a leftist slant. This cartoon pokes fun at the tea-partiers, the far-right extremists. It shows them to be a credulous bunch that jumps to conclusions. They see Obama bending down on a rug and instantly believe that it confirms their suspicions that he is Muslim. It also makes them seem unreliable because the rumors they perpetuate are formed from faulty reasoning and misinformation. Luckovich makes himself seem more reliable by destroying the credibility of his opponents. This cartoon also shows Luckovich’s opinion that this rumor is completely ridiculous. He makes it laughable.
Luckovich achieves humor by cleverly combining the news stories in a surprising but funny way. These are two seemingly unrelated issues, Oval Office redecoration and Obama’s faith, but he combines them flawlessly to get a laugh out of his audience. Sometimes political cartoons are hurtful to their targets, but simply are not funny; this one manages to not sound petty because of its humor.
Luckovich’s style gives away his intent. Cartoonists often portray their primary targets with distorted features, and those they are trying to defend with more proportional features. President Obama and chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, have relatively normal heads. They do not have particularly large or distorted features, for a cartoon image. They also have more shading and detail. The tea-partiers, however, have extra-large eyes with funny, upside-down smiles. Their noses are upturned and those with hair have wild tufts sticking up at angles or curling crazily from their heads. They are crude drawings with no shading, no chins, and little detail.
“He got a prayer rug!!!”
Cartoonist: Luckovich
Appeared in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsweek - September 13, 2010
Luckovich’s cartoon addresses two important news articles at the time of publication: the redecoration of the Oval Office and the popular myth that Obama is Muslim. In the first frame, Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, suggests that Obama take a closer look at the famous new rug. In the second frame, wide-eyed citizens peeping through Obama’s window believe that the president is praying, when he is only examining the new oval office rug. On further examination, one notices that the main man looking through the window is a tea-partier, because of the teabag dangling from his patriotic, tri-cornered hat.
Though a reputable publication, Newsweek certainly has a leftist slant. This cartoon pokes fun at the tea-partiers, the far-right extremists. It shows them to be a credulous bunch that jumps to conclusions. They see Obama bending down on a rug and instantly believe that it confirms their suspicions that he is Muslim. It also makes them seem unreliable because the rumors they perpetuate are formed from faulty reasoning and misinformation. Luckovich makes himself seem more reliable by destroying the credibility of his opponents. This cartoon also shows Luckovich’s opinion that this rumor is completely ridiculous. He makes it laughable.
Luckovich achieves humor by cleverly combining the news stories in a surprising but funny way. These are two seemingly unrelated issues, Oval Office redecoration and Obama’s faith, but he combines them flawlessly to get a laugh out of his audience. Sometimes political cartoons are hurtful to their targets, but simply are not funny; this one manages to not sound petty because of its humor.
Luckovich’s style gives away his intent. Cartoonists often portray their primary targets with distorted features, and those they are trying to defend with more proportional features. President Obama and chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, have relatively normal heads. They do not have particularly large or distorted features, for a cartoon image. They also have more shading and detail. The tea-partiers, however, have extra-large eyes with funny, upside-down smiles. Their noses are upturned and those with hair have wild tufts sticking up at angles or curling crazily from their heads. They are crude drawings with no shading, no chins, and little detail.
Laura, I agree that Luckovich doesn’t attack President Obama or his (former) chief-of-staff. Relative to some of the caricatures of the two, this one seems tame. This is a good post. You have chosen a great cartoon to work with. Clearly, Luckovich attacks the Tea Partiers. I would argue that the critique is harsher than you suggest. It appears to me that Luckovich almost makes them seem less-than-human.
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