Political Cartoons by Jorge Padilla

According to Charles Press, in his book named The Political Cartoons, Fairleigh Dickinson, 1981, he defines: “The political cartoons are a unique creation--pictorial editorial and artistic social commentary. The medium of the political cartoon, which combines the political and the artistic with journalism, provides interested persons the chance to express their social concerns or political views creatively. It allows them to make social commentary beyond the boundaries of the written word. Most political cartoons are designed to influence viewers with regard to specific political events of the day" (Press, 14).

The political cartoons are part of the history of this country since the mid-19th century and have opened the space to opinion and public debate. These are in the main newspaper, magazines and in recent years on the Internet, which is published daily in the political news or editorial section. The political cartoons influence people’s opinion and help people change their thinking about specific political events, then influence their behavior about the government, decision and actions. The purpose of the political cartoons is propaganda.

According to Dustin Gardiner (2005) Lucia Rather “mentioned several instances in which political cartoons were very successful in starting or empowering a political movement or trend. For example, cartoonist Thomas Nast caused much of the initial criticism that led to the demise of the corrupt New York political machine Tammany Hall in late 1800s” (par.10). In the 1870s, a New York politician named William Tweed was involved in the loss of 200 million dollars of products and taxes. The scandal was covered by the newspapers and was of the best newsworthiness to people. The opinion of Thomas Nast through political cartoons changed of the political history and transformed the cartoons into a medium to influence the people and demonstrate the potential political of them.


In recent years the people have been able to find political cartoons on the Internet; there are many sites where you can find information about the different topics and an inclusive complete guide of political cartoons edited. In these web sites you can find controversial debates, where you can to see the position that is adopted by different agents of the society. This is a new way of looking at a thing, of getting information about the events, taking a position or participating in opening the door 80% the new generation of political cartoons and the new role of the cartoonist. The new events are on the Internet, such as current political events, political scandals and political issues; today for example were published several political cartoons about Halloween and politics; in these the cartoonist got inspiration from the relation between the people in Iraq, Halloween day and the position of the Bush government; the symbols used were the pumpkin, US flag and the dead people. The political cartoons of today are not funny but are very impacting and of course are on these sites to change the thinking of people about the actual position of the Bush government. When you look at these political cartoons with security you change your thinking.

Actually the process of making a decision is affected by the information. The time or the immediacy of events is an important factor that affects the thinking and influences directly on the decision of people. Daily we are exposed to political cartoons through of the media such as newspaper, TV channels and the Internet; every day the media influences us. Actually time is important and people don't like to spend time in several details; therefore the political cartoons are important because the people can look quickly at these and stay informed about the political events. Our experience daily and our behavior are factors that support the importance of political cartoons in our lives and these influences on our decisions.

The political cartoons represent the past, reflect the present and are the best way to show to the citizens, the community, people involved inside of governments or politicians, the power of the images with humor and of the funny images and the capacity to change the history of this country.