Summary
The political cartoon by Dan Wasserman is portraying the European commission failing to take immediate action in response to the migrant crisis. The foreground of the cartoon displays three individuals that represent the commission are portrayed as perplexed on what action to take and how said action needs to be taken if taken at all. The background and foreground display washed up bodies of migrants and a capsized ship leaving many migrants drowning reaching their hands out for aid.
Analysis
The cartoon portrays a baffled European Commission as they try to deal with the European migrant crisis. One of the most important sections of the cartoon are the three individuals that form the European Commission and the statements they are making: “Should we address this at our next meeting?” this alludes to the Commission's reluctance to quickly address the issue, “We’d need support from all 28 nations” is alluding to a reluctance in trying to cooperate with all the European Union member states, and “We can ask for a show of hands.” represents the disorganized manner of which the commission looks to take action. The other important sections are the middle-ground and background that allude to the many migrants that have perished trying to reach the shores of Europe, but as a whole the migrants represent the crisis as a whole. The most striking feature is how calm the commission people seem to be as they stand amongst the lifeless migrant bodies and look on as many migrants are seemingly drowning reaching out for assistance, this represents the complacent nature of commission in wake of the crisis. This connects to the idea that as the crisis ensues the European commission has failed to bring the European Union together in taking a single unified action in dealing with the crisis. A failure to take action has raised doubt in the true integrity of the European Union itself. Such a failure to take action poses as a threat to both the European Union and unfortunately the thousands of migrants caught in a political and social limbo.
Work Cited
Wasserman,
Dan. "Europe Faces Waves of Refugees." Boston
Globe.
N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/04/21/editorial-cartoon-europe-faces-waves-refugees/QvFojPxi3LWsFcO3bdia1I/story.html>
Great summary of the political cartoon and thorough understanding of its message by breaking it down from each dialogue box and all the images shown. Successful analysis by recognizing the European commission's lack of action through the cartoon. However, as Ms. Hayes stated try not to copy and paste the image, instead provide a link.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you summarize the cartoon because you break down every element in the image as well as explain what it means. Furthermore, I love the image you picked it perfectly mocks Europe's lack of help to refugees. However, I just wish you could have included some information and bias or the cartoonist as well as noting any ethos, pathos, and logos.
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