Christmas and the Effect on Political Cartoons

The Christmas season is coming up soon and the effect it has on political cartoons is very interesting. While the Christmas season is full of cheer and good spirits, it seems like the opposite occurs within the realm of cartoons. The Christmas season seems to take out the worst in us, even though it's supposed to be when we are supposed to be at our best. 

Charlie Brown is a beloved character who makes his appearance during almost every holiday, even the minor ones. Here Charlie Brown and his little christmas tree have been turned into a political message. His tree is labeled as the health care reform, and the ornament holding the tree down is labeled as compromise. It shows here that Obama does not compromise (referring to the text) about his reforms, and it seems to ruin the spirit of the holiday. Using a beloved character seems to relay the message much more effectively, because you know who they are talking about and how the cartoon actually portrays the message because you know the story associated with it. Using black and white instead of color also enforces it. Charlie Brown is a semi depressed character living in a life which is bright and colorful, where he always learns a lesson and what's most important in life. Showing this image in black and white could decrease the ability for Charlie Brown to learn from this situation and cause him to lack in his ability to continue in the happiness of his life. This can push him back into his depressed self with no way out, even though in all the Charlie Brown cartoons he finds a way. The snow fall in the background shows how peaceful the rest of the world is while this is occurring, and how it seems to only affect those who are paying attention. 

This image discusses the political correctness of our society, and how we all seem to have to be politically correct when interacting with each other. Here, even at the presence of the baby Jesus and his family, the 3 men (not the wise men due to the text below the image) cannot seem to give a proper greeting to the man whom the season of Christmas is named after. This is showing that our society feels the need to be too politically correct, and how potentially it could be a social downfall. Even though we are all different, and celebrate different aspects of the holiday, we should be able to understand that and give each other the greeting we wish and not feel as though we can't say Christmas. I feel as though this image portrays this message effectively using the image of the Holy Family, even if one isn't a believer in Christ. This just shows that no matter the individual, everyone worries about being politically correct in situations.

As the Christmas season approaches there will be more and more interactions within political cartoons and different messages that need to be expressed. Using the holiday of Christmas will bring about many different viewpoints on beliefs and cause disagreement during the happiest time of the year. The images which will continue to arise will be extremely interesting, especially with all the recent political news.