Sunday, January 24, 2010

Palin-tology





This Sarah Palin caricature by Steven Brodner, featured in the New Yorker is a great rendition of Palins most damaging qualities. This devious portative captures many of 

her eminent features from the during election like the what I think we now call Palin hair cut, the Republican red jacket, Miss America smile and signature pointed glasses. This comic also points out the other aspects of her life, which the media used to annihilate her as a running mate to McCain.  

   Looking at the caricature we can see the screens behind her with different scenes depicting Palin. The top right screens show her with crossed arms representing her defensive hostility toward the war, democrats and her passionate love for hunting rifles. Late night show host David lettermen ads, “ Sarah Palin is an avid hunter. A vice president who like guns—Well, what could go wrong there?” The other screens show Palin doing other things making fun of her as a small town governor by showing her as a country hick riding a moose, hunting. The screen is of her catching a big fish, which was“ that big” also noting on her experience hunting and fishing and lack in dealing with real maters while governing.


            Although Palin could have been the running star of the campaign being a possibility for the first women vice president the power of comic utterance like this became her Achilles' heel. Like the incriminating pear to King Philippe the permanent effects of these jokes stuck to her even if they were false.

            Interestingly enough I find that making fun of leading figures like presidents and political figures has almost become an American past time. With Late night shows doing nightly “moments in presidential speeches” for Bush and constant ridicule for celebrities and big figures it is strange to think that once back when this kind of humor began that it was the slaves, injured, crippled and poor who were the subjects of laughter when today such humor would be considered rude, racist and intolerable. My question is how and has there ever been a political figure that has risen above their own comical ridicule?

 

4 comments:

  1. This caricature of Sarah Palin is an intersesting one in that it highlights her personal intrests as well as her political persona and true to your analysis, I also agree that her some-what extreme intersests for mainstream America was her down fall, in that her personal life merged with that of her political career. Her career failed because of who she is and what she believes.

    Although, as you said with the new American past time of mockery and scrutinization, that's the gamble all public figures take: in order to be sucessful and favored by the people, one must be able to beat the media, which controls the people.

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  2. I think that the TV screens in the background really accentuate Palin's love of the media and how she did try to use it to her advantage. I don't think that it worked to her advantage but she did know how to mug for the camera.

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  3. Well... I think there have been a handful of political figures who have risen above their comical ridicule. Only I have a feeling it happens after they have died or gone out of office, and people have a chance to look at there career with a little bit of perspective. I believe Abraham Lincoln was very unpopular during his presidency, however now he is regarded as one of America's finest presidents. Even Michael Jackson seems to get a finer review in death than in life Much seems to be forgiven with time. As I mention earlier political cartoons seem to be specific to a particular trait, incident, issue and time and are an opinion of a particular artist (or group of people), and accordingly they are usually harsh. However, when one looks over a public figures whole life span and weighs the good with the bad, the public in general is apt to be more lenient in their overall estimation of their character.

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  4. Yes there has been a politician who rose against comic portrayel...Bill Clinton

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