Thursday, December 6, 2018

In the news industry, a large portion of the general consensus amongst different political groups can be found simply within cartoon based artistry. In other words, political cartoons have played a large role in setting the stage for public opinion for many decades, acting as both biased opinion columns and different forms of propaganda. A good example of this are the cartoons produced within the opinion section of the New York Times. One of the most recent publications, December 6th, 2018,  titled "Welcome to COP24", addresses the pressing issue of climate change upon a developing world. The author, Patrick Chappatte, utilizes slight handed satire to express the urgency of addressing and attending to the issue of climate change. However, he at the same time is heavy-handed in addressing the way in which humanity is standing idle in an attempt to fix the problem. This can also be seen in his style, where the audience has a minimal level of identifiable expression, but the politician/scientists are fully visible. The simplicity of his style may tie into the level of understanding of the general public. Minimal, but with a certain amount of potential to make a change. Furthermore, the persuasiveness of this cartoon specifically demonstrated within the speech bubbles, clarifies the reason for climate change, and its perpetuation: humanity. This ultimately motivates the reader to look for a way in which they can make a change. Especially within the context of the paper that we can see the man holding: "Time to act!." However, context is extremely important in order to understand the interworkings and significance of climate change. As the reader, symbolism isn't highlighted strongly as the author may expect you to already be familiar with the topic. Therefore, an unfortunate majority of the demographic without the necessary background knowledge may not find this ad persuasive. Nevertheless, the position of the author is not hard to find. The time to act is now, and climate change is a serious and everlasting issue that requires immediate attention from anyone and everyone.




      Original Web Page: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/opinion/cop24-climate-change.html

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