Analyzing Political Cartoons

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Analyzing Political Cartoons
The political cartoon shown in this published on August 13, 2013 at the Cagle Post, an online repository of political cartoons from the world`s best cartoonists. Most newspapers go to this site to purchase rights to reprint cartoons. Because of the website`s nature, most of the cartoons found there were reactions to political issues. This particular cartoon entitled Another Dove was created by Markus Szyszkowitz, an Austrian cartoonist whose works frequent Die Presse and Tiroler Tageszesitung. Szyszkowitz is best known for his daily comic strip, Super Rudi and Superstruppi.
By looking at Szyszkowitz`s previous works, one will understand that he utilizes caricatures and humor to get this point across. In this particular cartoon, one will see various elements: three men (one of them is clearly US President Barack Obama because he has the President`s distinguishing features - his hair style, protruding forehead and large ears), doves (nine of which are lying on the ground, obviously dead, and another one getting ready to be flown), and country flags. At first glance, it looks as if the three men are playing a game, wherein the word NOW is a signal for the one man to fly the bird, and the other two will shoot them down. The two men look like they are enjoying themselves, while the other, President Obama, looks baffled, worried even. Obviously, these men have some kind of misunderstanding - while one side is offering peace (as doves carrying olives are typical symbols for peace), the other may think that there is no need for peace, and so they play a "game".
In order to understand this cartoon, the first clue was to find out what the flags were. A quick search on the internet shows that these are the Israel and Palestine flags. Because of Obama`s presence in the cartoon, then one may say that the other two men are either the presidents or representatives of Israel and Palestine. This cartoon was then made as a reaction to the recent peace talks between Israel and Palestine organized by the Unite...