Social Studies: Politcal Cartoons

For our Globalization in a Multicultural World unit, we created our own political cartoon mocking some aspect of globalization. Here is mine:

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So techniques did we use to make our cartoon better? We used irony, juxtaposition, and exaggeration.
Irony: An example of this would be the McDonald’s sign saying “New addition! Dome to keep you safe from the bad air outside!” Then, located on the dome, a pipe is seen coming out of McDonald’s, pumping carbon dioxide out. It’s ironic how McDonald’s was fully aware of the pollution and took action to shield their customers from it, yet they ignore the fact that they are a big contributor to all this contamination too.
Juxtaposition: An example of this would be McDonald’s “coming soon” with their iconic Ronald clown saying “I’m lovin’ it!” We placed a crying girl beside him to show their connection. The little girl’s apron says “Eugene’s Nasi Lemak”. It means that she works for one of the shops that McDonald’s replaced. She’s crying because now she has no job and is homeless. In a way, this is also irony, as while Ronald is “lovin’ it”, the girl is anything but. If we placed the girl away from Ronald, readers won’t be able to see the connection and won’t understand this other ironic piece, which is why we used juxtaposition effectively.
Exaggeration: As we all know, McDonald’s is a huge corporation that has opened shops everywhere. In this cartoon, we exaggerated this fact by showing that McDonald’s have shops every 5 meters. It really influenced the readers to think about how fast these shops are popping up, and how many more traditional shops they are replacing. If there was no exaggeration, the readers would have more difficulty reflecting upon these intricate ideas.
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And how does this cartoon relate to globalization?
Well, our political cartoon is criticizing how globalization is "Americanizing" the world and taking over native cultures. As we all know, McDonald’s is a huge fast food company that has spread all over the world. In this cartoon, we exaggerated this company into owning hotels. This shows how big McDonald’s have grown. Inside, a secretary is seen telling people how the hotel rooms are all sold out, but a new hotel will be opening soon on Westside Street. This was also an exaggeration, as we put this hotel as five meters down the road. An idea like this was originally thought of when we realized that big corporations like McDonald’s seem to have a shop everywhere. In real life, however, that would mean everywhere, shops are being closed down in order for McDonald’s to build their new shop there. It shouldn’t be any different in this cartoon, so we showed that McDonald is in place of many smaller shops. These smaller shops are all traditional ones, selling things like char kway teow and nasi lemak. Without these shops to keep the culture alive, native cultures and traditions will gradually die down, and that’s why globalization is ripping apart cultures.
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