Wake Up, America!

I found this image while searching for political art. I found it extremely interesting and immediately wanted to discuss it for multiple reasons. They are so many different references within this image, that it brings across such a deeper meaning to the piece. 

The obvious image in the front is the statue of liberty, which is drawn into a real beautiful woman. Her face is soft and lips are red, though I personally feel as though her hair should have been black for the image she is trying to portray. Here she is referencing Snow White, with her pale skin and red lips through her deep sleep. Here she is sleeping while America is plummeting into chaos. Within the fairytale of Snow White there are many hidden meanings. Analyzing fairytales brings these meanings to life, and understanding them is extremely important for this women. 

Snow White is put into sleep because she is not ready to be a women. Her sleep symbolizes the part of her maturity where she starts her period and is on her way to becoming a woman. The queen doesn't want her to be a woman, because she will take over the kingdom and become a mature woman and fully be fairer than her. She is put to sleep through a period because she isn't ready to take on this role as a woman, and really needs to sleep to mature because she is not ready. 

The meaning of this image is clear once the analysis of the fairytale is understood, however the artist goes much deeper than that. The red background and the red of the elephant which she is holding seem to relate back to the Snow White fairytale, which is so heavily incorporated into this image. Lady Liberty is asleep while our country is seemingly going through it's own maturity, however in this image the maturity seems to be demise. The country is failing, such as Snow White failed to become a woman at the right time and was sent into a sleep and how the queen wanted her asleep so she could not become a woman, Lady Liberty is being held back as well. Through the demise of the country, she is also not ready to actually go in the right direction. It seems to show that the country needs to fall before she awakens and can build it back up. 

The crosses in the background can also deal with the idea of Snow White's innocence. She doesn't understand death because she has not matured. This might show that Lady Liberty's sleep is partially of her own doing like Snow White's. Snow needed to mature, and Lady Liberty seems to not want to deal with the issues at hand. That is why America is asleep, they are not noticing what is happening. They cannot mature and understand what is going on. 

The stuffed animal held in her sleeping arms is an elephant, representing the Republican party. The innocence of Snow White is shown through the stuffed animal in her arms, but also the innocence of the country. Our country hasn't matured enough to fully understand as a whole what is going on. That is what the image is portraying. 

Using fairytales is an extremely interesting way to incorporate political ideas. While it is unusual, and hard to understand without understanding the analysis of the tales, the idea comes across extremely easily. Even if the analysis isn't understood, the text brings the message across. Fairytales are extremely interesting to me, and I love to analyze them. Finding a political image which can be analyzed using a fairytale was extremely interesting and effective for the message.