Abby Saavedra

Mr. Soeth

English 3 AP

February 24, 2011

REHUGO Analysis – Observation: Political Cartoon

A. Cartoon Attached – artist: Rina Ayuyang

B. In this cartoon, the artist depicts an Asian-American family, with members of three separate age groups, lined up on a stage and being presented as “This season’s cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.” The backdrop juxtaposes this idea to highlight the presence of numerous characteristics of a demanding economy that undermine a family’s potential economic success in society.

C. An Asian-American child, mother, and grandfather are pictured on a stage, each holding frustrated facial expressions and body language. Behind them is a backdrop shaped as a cityscape with terms like “education cuts, economy, glass ceiling, crime, [and] affirmative action” sprawled across it, and the way it surrounds each of the three people implies that such grievances upset each person. This broadens the scope of target audiences; it shows that youth, adults, and seniors are all affected, which heightens the importance of reform to benefit all of society. Terms like glass ceiling, immigration, and affirmative action tie in directly with the artist’s use of Asian characters, since the terms most commonly limit the financial successes of non-white immigrant families. The visual’s effectiveness is heightened through the irony that the subtitle provides by claiming a “wonderful life” when economic issues that stress and demand from a common family are more prevalent than simple prosperity.

D. The visual brings awareness about the actual economic struggles that families live with – especially those who aren’t of Anglo descent. Economic struggles concerning employment, education cuts, crime, welfare, and health care ultimately heighten a common man’s taxes, thus undermining the possible maintenance of financial stability. Non-Anglo families are even more undercut by immigration struggles, affirmative action, and the glass ceiling concept which all further limit their possible financial successes. The difficulty and demands of the economy thus cause social discontent and add onto the distresses that a family has to face.

MLA Citation for visual:

Ayuyang, Rina. Rina Ayuyang Faces the Music. 20 Aug. 2002. 24 Feb. 2011. [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/smallpress/10298359815031.htm]

Note: I used a different kind of bracket for the citation because Blogspot won't show the link if I used the proper one. Sorry!