Blog 5

http://images.salon.com/comics/tomo/2005/08/22/tomo/story.jpg
I decided to write my 5th blog on this political cartoon I found through searching on Google. The cartoon is concerned with the war in Iraq, a very controversial subject. It is addressed to Americans and basically is making fun of Americans who support the war in Iraq by portraying them as being oblivious and unaware of what is really going on in Iraq. The meaning of this cartoon would definitely change if the audience did. If the Iraqi people saw this cartoon, or any American cartoon commenting on the war, I’m not sure they would find it very funny considering they are in the true midst of the conflict. I think it would be very interesting to learn more about how Iraqis react to American cartoons of this nature. The argument being directed towards Americans is that the war in Iraq is not something to take lightly and the author argues this by sarcastically having his characters optimistically support the war. The author uses a few common fallacies of argument to do this. He appeals to widespread belief when the male character talks about his “numerous ribbon magnets” on his car, which show his support for the war in Iraq. We are all familiar with these yellow ribbon magnets that support our troops, because they are a common trend in American society. The author also uses the Ad Hominem fallacy when the male character insults Cindy Sheehan and calls her “such a traitorous America-hating @#&$%*”. Here the author is attacking Cindy Sheehan (a anti-war activist who lost her son during the Iraq war), instead of attacking her anti-war beliefs. Another tactic I found the author use was when he had the characters use the term “transport tubes” instead of “body bag”. “Transport tube” is much more delicate of a term to describe a body bag because it doesn’t even give the idea that it is used for a human body. The author’s use of language and abuse of the fallacies of argument make this comic strip humorous.

Blog 3

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/that_full_house_episode_where_they
I chose to write my third blog on the front-page article from this weeks Onion. The title is “That Full House Episode Where They Meet The Beach Boys Is On Tomorrow At 3 P.M.” and is labeled as a “National Alert”. The article is addressed to the people of the United States, warning us that the country is on high alert because tomorrow the episode of Full House is on, where the Tanners meet the Beach Boys. Specifically, this article is really addressed to anyone who has seen this specific episode or is familiar with this old 80s/90s sitcom. I have a faint memory of this specific episode and when I read the article, all the specific details they described I could picture clearly in my mind, making it even more humorous. The main point of this article is to make fun of the Department of Homeland Security (who are responsible for the alert) and also the once very popular show. The tone of the text is quite serious as it is supposed to be imitating a national alert. However the subject, the specific episode of Full House, is not so serious. This is what makes the article funny; it tries to make Full House appear to be a very important and serious matter, when in reality it is pretty typical American sitcom that has no deep significance. While the article appears to have the purpose of informing the reader of this well-known episode airing, in all actuality it’s purpose is to amuse the reader. As I mentioned earlier, details of this episode were used to remind the reader that the article is making fun of the show. For example, when the article reads, “It is up to and every one of you to be aware of the small but memorable moments, like Joey and Jesse’s jingle for Beach Butter Suntan Lotion, or that ridiculous yellow blazer Deej wears to the concert.” Another point I think this article has is to remind Americans of the relevance that popular sitcoms have in today’s society. Full House is part of American culture and this article makes fun of how a T.V. show of no real importance can be what our society revolves around.