For my visual text, I choose this political cartoon by Nate
Beeler. Beeler is an award winning editorial cartoonist who earned his
reputation for his works in the Washington
Examiner. He received his journalism degree at American University (a
school in which I am interested in). This image was published in the Columbus Dispatch in
November of 2015, so this text was intended for an audience of adults voting in
the upcoming election. The purpose of this text is to spread awareness to Beeler’s
audience of the dangers having Donald Trump as the next president will bring. The
cartoon depicts our Republican Candidate for the 2016 election, Donald Trump,
on the left, and Nazi-Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler, on the right.
This cartoon is a parody on Donald Trump's show, Celebrity Apprentice. Apprentice was a reality T.V. show that
gave celebrities the ability to pitch their ideas to a board of well-known businessmen.
In this image, Hitler is in Trump's role of the show, using his classic line
"You're Hired". In addition, Trump appears to be "Hailing",
an action Hitler is predominately known for. By reversing characteristics of
both subjects, the artist illustrates the similarities that Hitler and Donald
Trump share. By drawing parallels between the two, this supports the authors
purpose. Obviously, Hitler is arguably among one of the most infamous political
leaders, so having a president who shares similar views as him would not be
ideal for the future of the United States.
I think this cartoon is persuasive in showing Beeler's purpose.
I have heard of many people comparing Trump's beliefs to that of Hitler's. This
cartoon makes that juxtaposition more evident to me. What's frightening to me
is that this image was published about a year ago, yet Trump remains in the
election.
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