This is the scene: George W. Bush Jr. gives the keys of an old beat up car with no engine in it to a little John McCain. Simple enough but in my opinion very funny, the two characters are ones that we instantly recognize and if anyone has a problem recognizing the McCain character then there is a strategically placed campaign button on his chest that reads McC. The clothes also struck me when I started analyzing this comic. Bush is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt. He looks very professional. McCain on the other hand is dressed like a cross between a small child and a computer nerd. He has a white collared shirt with his huge campaign button covering most of his chest making him look smaller. He has dark pants on with tennis shoes on his feet. McCain’s whole outfit makes him look like an inexperienced child being given the keys to a car that he can’t even see over the steering wheel! The dialogue between these two well known characters is very simple consisting of only three words “She’s all yours…” Their gestures are what add to the humor of the cartoon. Bush seems very pleased to hand over the keys of the completely destroyed automobile that he has been in charge of for the last few years, and of course this automobile has a license plate that reads GOP. McCain on the other hand does not happy at all to have to take the keys to that awful car. He grimaces and tries to smile but it just comes out very bad. The car itself is what makes the whole comic in my opinion. All the tires are missing and it is propped up on cement blocks. There is a jack holding up the back of the car as if someone had tried to fix the tires but even started it. The door is completely gone and the springs are coming out of the upholstery, and the windshield is totally cracked. The engine is gone from the car, and it is hanging from a tree in the background. There is even a squirrel sleeping in the top of the car. And as the license plate suggests this car stands for the Republican Party. It is a metaphor for how beat up the Republican Party has become. It is a party with no hope of running again (no pun intended) and poor McCain has to try to get it back on the road.
Of course to think this comic is funny you cannot be a Republican or be conservative. It is directed to Democrats and those who do not believe in the Republican Party. Since I am not a Republican I laughed when I saw this comic. It is just really funny to see how beat up the car is and to see McCain’s face. He just looks like a little kid being given the keys to a car that he is too young to drive.
This comedy piece is very funny! Thanks for sharing it! I have to say that you hit it right on! Your analysis of the entire seen is so thorough and I agreed with every interpretation you presented. I am apolitical but if ever I had to choose I would go Republican, yet this was still hilarious! Maybe it is because I am not a die-hard for the Republican Party but even if I were it has become pretty obvious over the last few years how Bush screwed up on some things and in what state the Republican party is...that's why America chose Obama. Anyway, given this knowledge, and having the discipline to accept the mistakes this party has made, I found the piece very funny and very representative of the actuality of the situation. McCain was often referred to as another Bush but it is clear here that, even though he belongs to the same party, he would have been dealt different, more damaged cards than Bush was.
ReplyDeleteDuring this week we have learned the impact and power of these comical cartoons and this is another example of the type of things we see every day. As you mentioned, you found it funny as a Democrat and this is because of your point of view and beliefs in politics. I would take a wild guess and say that the person who did this cartoon is probably also a democrat, or at least not a republican. This is important because we must always keep in mind that these strips are expressions of opinions that we don't always agree with and that is okay because it brings light to difficult and tense political issues.
I love this cartoon, and you showed us that there are many hidden messages behind this simplistic looking cartoon. When I first looked at this cartoon I thought that John McCain was simply getting a lemon, when he thought it was a good buy, but your analysis of the image indicates much more. One thing about this image that spews the most humor was the dialogue. The dialogue is very important when a cartoonist is trying to create a sense of humor, but of course it can be left behind. “It’s all yours” is a common line said in American society, and has been said in movies and television, even everyday life. Picking clever words is an impertinent part of a cartoon. I felt that this dialogue picked the best and most common words to create an environment of humor. The commonality of the words is very important, just like the image. The audience should be able to instantly understand cartoon when they see it. And the picture of an eager boy with his father handing him over the keys to an old beat up car is very memorable in our society. Overall, this cartoon seems to have all of the components that a cartoon should have, it has a message, and gives a few laughs.
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