Rhetorical Analysis, Looking back on Super Tuesday

Will Peterson

1-18-17

               I found this cartoon particularly ironic and interesting as it depicted the state (or what we thought the state was) of the republican party on super Tuesday. The picture clearly shows the elephant beat up and wounded with bandages, a black eye and a sling. This is supposed to show how we thought the party had been dominated with the resurgence of Hilary Clinton in the democratic party, a clear leader. Meanwhile many powerful republicans were refusing to support their party’s leading candidate, Donald Trump. His famous hat which usually reads, “Make America Great Again” has been changed to read “Make the GOP Establishment Great Again.” This claim makes it seem as though the party is in shambles. A state of which they might not even be able to recover from. Super Tuesday being an important day in the election process I can remember recalling watching CNN. Bradley Cooper questioned what the future will be for the republican party because at this point it seemed clear and obvious that the republican party would not be able to compete with Clinton’s stronghold on the liberal democratic party. However, all of this somewhat backfired as the public ended up siding enough with Trump for him to win the presidency. I found this piece particularly interesting because of the irony. This being the first election that I have had the ability to vote in, I followed it much more closely than previous elections. The fact that people were thinking this last March is truly shocking now

I've compared  Mos Def song (mathematics) and (Donald Trump can criticize America but Colin Kaepernick can't makes a statement) in Mos Def lyrics ,saying "light in the ass with heavy steel eyes set on the pretty stuff in life" I believe that he was saying that black kids don't have money in their back pocket, so they have the heavy steel and with it they're going to take the pretty things they've say their eyes on. He also has the statement "budget cutbacks but an increased police presence"when a person is desperate to feed there family or just obtain the necessary things in life you take risk. So it's a coincidence when times are hard they increased the police presence almost like an ambush. When I think of Kaepernick and Trump, Trump obviously figured out how money works and with that the strategies that he will implement, this will keep a foot on the necks of minorities. I think that Kaepernick probably knows about the rich wealthy black American side and unlike Trump it's not about maintaining a status of money and power I think that Kaepernick want people to look at him and understand that he only wants the quality not money for everyone , equal treatment and equal opportunities all the same. so if i was to sum this up its rather simple for me a rich white man who is clearly feeding into a certain crowd popping them up saying what he know will hype the crowd can say outrageous claims. Where as a man like Kaepernick, does his speech or protest on a big stage where people with all types of options are subject to watch. But for everyone doesn't want to watch Kaepernick protest. So in some way or another they may fill violated, or rubbed of a good time. Basically Kaepernick wasn't private enough with his protest . Which was his whole reason for choosing going about it the way he did.   

Trump & Kaepernick

When looking at this striking pieces of rhetorical analysis of our country I found two that really stood out. The first one, a cartoon depicting Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers. Trump and Kaepernick are both claiming that “America’s not great” to an audience. In the picture of Trump, the audience is replying with a “yeah!” and with Kaepernick a stern, “Boo!” This one stood out to me because I understand so easily where both people are coming from.  Trump’s stance and Kaepernick’s are different and their claims are for different reasons. Trump is more commenting on how the United States is viewed internationally, whilst Kaepernick is more commenting in internal issues, specifically the suffering of minorities through systematic racism. This is very interesting because Trump won the election on this claim. Meanwhile Kaepernick received strong signals about why he was in the wrong. An interesting comparison can be made to Dread Scott’s interactive artwork from 1988. The Plaque on the wall reads, “what is the proper way to display the flag?” with images of the flag being burned. Then on the ground, the flag has been laid for people to walk on as they make their way to the podium and write something into a journal of some kind. His name immediately reminds me of Dred Scott an ex-slave who fought for freedom of blacks in the 1800s. However, this Scott is making a similar claim. Scott is claiming that it is okay to walk on the flag or to burn the flag. Though Kaepernick never claimed this, his reasons are similar to that of Scott. Scott thinks that actions of the citizens of the country aren’t something that needs to be respected. This easily relates to SLO #1B: analyze the way a text’s (artifact’s) purposes, audiences, and contexts influence rhetorical options.

Trump Rhetorical Analysis

Jeoel Turner
Adam Cerami
English 102
18 January 2017

The cartoon above depicts Donald Trump in a meeting with Adolf Hitler on the show “Celebrity Apprentice”. The cartoon serves to draw connections to Donald Trump’s policies on Muslims in America and Hitler’s policies on Jews in Europe. The artist shows that Trump’s plans are eerily similar to those Hitler implemented shortly before the start of the holocaust. The cartoon demonstrates how extreme the policies Trump would like to implement are, by comparing them to those of a cruel, extremist dictator. The fact that this is all happening on a TV show may be commenting on Trump’s celebrity status and his complete lack of political experience.  The gesture that Trump takes in the comic may be alluding to the fact that Trump is believed to have connections to racist organizations. Trump’s attitude in the comic is loud and obnoxious, which reflects the immaturity he has displayed throughout the presidential race. Trump has been known for being unprofessional, often resorting to name calling, tantrums, and slandering opponents rather than formulating counter-arguments in political interactions. The artist of this comic also seeks to mock Trump’s physical appearance, which is apparent in his depiction of Trump’s hair and disproportionately small hands. Ultimately, the artist’s depiction of Trump portrays him as an extremist who may be too inexperienced and immature for the job of presidency.  

The Path to Citizenship

This particular political cartoon is titled "The Path to Citizenship" by Matt Bors. The general idea being expressed here is the struggle of immigrants, from any country, while trying to gain citizenship here in America. The process starts off displaying that they have to meet the deadline; deadlines seem to be easy to make, but within this cartoon it shows the individual climbing a big wall in order to even begin the process. It also attacks that while maintaining the low-grade job he has, he still has to continue filling out hundreds of forms. While balancing all of those tasks, the individual has to deal with racism, that sadly is still part of our society today. Then, about conquering all of that, the individual has to wait a long time and pay a huge about of fees to just be a middle-class citizen. What I think this cartoon depicts is the struggle within the process of becoming an American citizen as it is not an easy task. Many people say "Why don't they just become a citizen?" but do not take into account of how hard the process is. And even when they do become a citizen, the racism and class struggle still exists. By the time this individual becomes a citizen, the playing field does not level out- it is an uphill battle from start to finish.

"Made in America"

"Made in America" by Sigm C

As I was scrolling through which cartoon to pick, this one stood out to me- "Made in America". When you first glance at the cartoon, you see a man sleeping on a bench using a banner as a blanket with the words 'Made in America' across it. Next to the bench are his 3 bags of possessions reading poverty, homeless and hunger. This picture really stood out to me because of its irony. America is known for how great it is and that's why are ancestor crossed oceans to make a better life for themselves because of how many opportunities there we're here. While that is true, we forget to realize how many people in America are living under the poverty line: 45 million to be exact. That's almost 15 percent of Americans. So the irony of this picture is what I was drawn to and I feel like that's what the illustrator was hoping the audience would draw from it. I personally think that the author is trying to point out the oblivious state that we, Americans are living in. Everyone is so caught in their own lives, that they often forget how big of problem this is. It’s crazy how a land that is filled with so much opportunity can have almost 15 percent of Americans living under the poverty line. I think the authors overall message he’s trying to leave with this cartoon is, we need to open our eyes to the problems that have been and problem for many years and start taking action.

Trump and Carson

Found on http://bokbluster.com/2015/11/14/trump-and-carson-foreign-policy/

I find this political cartoon appealing because it equates foreign policy to brain surgery. Brain surgery is a complicated process, meaning it is stressful to perform and the surgeon should definitely be careful when performing it. In the cartoon, it shows Trump and Carson performing "brain surgery". Foreign policy, like brain surgery, is a delicate subject that requires a person to really think about how they are going about it. Carson is careful, since he knows there are many components that are needed to be looked over in order to have a successful surgery, while Trump wants to get it over with and chooses a chainsaw instead of taking the time to pay attention to the patient. This is pretty dated, since Carson dropped out months ago and Trump is now the President Elect, but I feel that this picture still has some relevance. It shows that while campaigning, Carson tried to formulate a plan to keep foreign policy stable without disrupting everything else, while Trump simply wants to say whatever he chooses and not really think about the repercussions of his actions. This political cartoon is for Carson, but it also almost seems like a slap in the face towards him looking at it now. It kind of shows that Carson might have paid too much attention to Foreign policy that he didn't really focus on the other aspects of the campaign, or people could have believed that being too careful was not really that important, thus propelling Trump further up in the election. Trump was straight to the point and appealed to people, which allowed him to win more votes and appeal to more people. 

Inequality

Marcela Yubeta
Adam Cerami
English 102
17 January 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

The following cartoon illustrates how white law enforcements are coming down discriminating and profiling a black man for protesting for holding one side of the sign saying “Equal Justice” while a white man is holding the other side. Despite the fact that both are holding up the poster and standing up for the same thing, only the black man is being suspicioned and asked for a permit. This reflects on the idea that there is racial injustice as the police officers suspect he is not following orders and “found” a reason to stop him due to color of his skin. While both men are taking their part of holding each side of the poster, the white male is unbothered or has not caused any suspicion of him being able to protest. On the other hand, the black male is being looked upon and treated different because they cannot look past the color of his skin.  This reflects on the idea that because of the color of their skin they must be doing something wrong as they fit the description even without probable cause. Situations like these only seem to keep repeating themselves as the cartoon shows that having a darker tone is a barrier to equal rights. Furthermore, it promotes this idea that in America there is no real equality because even though both are part of the same act the black male was asked to show his papers. Lastly, the cartoon expresses the racial discrimination that black people have to face while people of light skinned do not get looked at twice or even questioned.

Illegal Immigration

The political cartoon presented shows the profiling and stereotyping of illegal immigrants. The man asleep on the side of the road is wearing, what seems to be drawn on the side of his shirt, the words “Federal Immigration Enforcement” along with an American flag symbol. He is asleep on a sign that reads “U.S./Mexico Border” with nothing more than a pillow, which can generate the idea that he is an illegal immigrant who wrote that on his shirt in hope of not being caught. The two border patrol officers who are in full uniform suspect he is not an illegal immigrant because of his clothing and presentation. On the other hand, if the man was wearing a plain white shirt with maybe a few more belongings and found asleep on the side of the road, then the officers would have most likely suspected he was illegal in the U.S. The officers also call the man "lazy, inept, and irresponsible" all degrading terms which gives the reader an idea that they feel that way towards illegal immigrants then claim he is not illegal. This is self-contradictory because they are saying that as United States citizens are lazy, inept, and irresponsible.

-Charlie Handy

Trump Cartoon Analysis

Becky Patty

Adam Cerami

English 102

18 January 2017

            The cartoon shown is from the point of view of president elect Donald Trump once he is in the Oval Office. This depiction shows Trump about to tweet about nuking Mexico. The cartoon makes references to Trump’s past actions. One being his somewhat unprofessional activity on Twitter, which includes name calling and Twitter fights with politicians and celebrities. It also refers to his animosity towards Mexico and proposed extreme foreign policy changes. The casual tone and juvenile vocabulary also illustrates a sense of immaturity. Trump’s telltale orange skinned hand holding the phone shows that he personally writes his tweets and his Twitter is not run and monitored by his publicity representatives. The cartoon also hints toward expected behavior from Trump. It is possible that he will be more active on social media than past presidents, including President Obama. And now that he has been elected, he will strive to put his ideas for foreign policy into action. It has been a common joke throughout social media that Trump is obsessed with Mexico, especially when it comes to the wall he proposed during his campaign. The term “lol” used in the tweet shows that Trump’s attitude towards such a serious decision and event in amusement and maybe even enjoyment. Overall, the cartoon creates the impression of a teenage boy doing what he wants and bragging on Twitter, and it may not be a far cry from reality.