http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2009/08/082009.html
What does this picture attempt to explain to the viewer? How does this cartoon portray the public's opinion on the public schooling system? What is this artist's opinion on the public schooling system? How does this cartoon relate to our class theme of public vs. private?
I think the obvious message the picture is trying to explain to the viewers is that public schools do not care about public opinions. The school does not care what people have to say about the school system. In the picture, there was a man who looks like he was whistling and hammering at the same time. He looked carefree and just hammering it away. In my opinion, the artist believes that public schools do not take things seriously and just do whatever pleases them. The artist thinks the public school system is corrupted and since the school looked like it was shut down, it could hint that the school system needs reconstruction. This relates to our class theme because it exams how public opinions are being ignored. It kind of propose the idea how school might pretend to take opinions into account, but privately they don’t care.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chen that the obvious message of the cartoon is that public schools do not want the public's opinions. The main aspect that caught my eye is the angry-looking man on the left saying "You want a public option, what are you a socialist?"(with the word socialist underlined). I find it interesting the author underlined socialist because the guy is talking to an innocent looking little girl when he says it, as the other man on the right is nailing 2 by 4's across the door as to keep students out. To me it looks like the artist feels like the public school system is more interested in maintaining power than educating children.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first details that caught my eyes was the black squiggles that make the brick wall of the school look run down. The author put in these details to fuel the stereotype of the public school system as being run down and second rate to private schools. This relates to the overall message of the piece which is fear of publicly run entities. The artist shows this sense of fear of people about government run programs by its use of characters. The fact that this middle-aged man has to yell at the little girl proves that a fear exists between people and the government run systems like the school system. Fear is expressed because people feel government doesn't always know how to handle public situations like the schooling system which creates dissatisfaction between people and government.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the artist is trying to make the public school worn down. I think the artist is not on the side of the men closing down the school because the artist makes the one man in the cartoon scream at the cute and innocent little girl. So the artist probably believes that public schools should not be closed because that is just as crazy as calling that little girl a socialist for having an opinion.
DeleteJustin I think you had great insight towards the picture. I think the underlining of the word socialist was interesting too but I interpreted it a little different. To me the author was trying to show how the public can often times over exaggerate and be to quick to judge the government. The fact that this older gentlemen has to scream at this girl while the other man is boarding up the school tells me that once the government does something that is not in our personal interest it makes us overreact and do things we might not have normally done. Clearly no action by the government of a democracy would try to be socialist but this man act out of emotion because of his discontent for government.
ReplyDeleteIn this cartoon, the man is portrayed to be rude. He's standing in front of the kid, putting his hands on waist, seems like he wants to block the kid from entering school. He looks like he's in charge. Meanwhile, another guy is hammering and sealing the door, however, he looks indifferent about what's the conversation between the kid and the man who's in charge. It seems like he only care about finish the work, that's it. Based on all these details, I can tell that the cartoon is trying to satirize the image of public school and portray it to be irresponsible and non-democratic. I think the close-down of school infers that the public school system is no longer well accepted by people, and needs to be reestablished.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jason because this picture is clearly against public schools. I do think that the author of this cartoon doesn't agree with the way public schools are being run right now. This is visible by the agressive man talking to the little girl about. Also the boarding up of the schools sends a very powerful message because schools are very important part of our society. Also, the lack of compassion from the man yelling at the little girl is a very important detail. Schools are a great place for young kids to learn and develope and this guy could care less that he is taking it away from her.
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ReplyDeleteI like Cam's post here depicting each character in the cartoon but I would like to expand on the little girl. I feel the artist is trying to show that the people being affected most are innocent, powerless, and scared. The girl is just trying to go to school but is denied and reprimanded for doing nothing wrong. She is depicted as a child because more than likely a small child would not have the power to take down a big fierce man. The artist is trying to compare the little girl with the American public and how they have no say in governmental policies, for example school systems.
DeleteOne thing that I noticed about the picture was the man boarding up the school. I disagree with Cam about that man representing the American public. He seems to be very similar to the man yelling at the little girl. To me he seems more like someone with more power in the school, but less powerful than the man yelling at the little girl. His carefree look and his casual clothes, show that he is not affected by this scene. He is just doing what he is told to do. I agree with everyone that the artist is expressing his opinion about the public school system. He views the public school system as something that the government ignores.
ReplyDeleteThis cartoon, to me, appears to be satirically saying that any sort of public, or government run, options are socialist. This is referring to the new health care program being run by the government in addition to the public schools. This is a comparison some have made to the new health care system. I believe that this artist is trying to show that people are over reacting when they compare these programs to socialism.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I think we have to look at here are the words socialist and public. Socialists are known for wanting to make things public and evenly distributed. Another thing you have to note is that the author is exaggerating. Also look at the title that comes with the picture. He's making the comic look ridiculous by adding the title to the comic. The author is trying to get across that being a little bit socialist isn't bad, given the reputation the word carries with it.
ReplyDeleteThe article relates to private vs. public by taking something public (school) and having something somewhat private (government) take control of it and close it.