Megan Barlow

Jolynne Berrett
English 1010
July 1, 2015

Visual Analysis Essay

In the political cartoon shown above, irony is a key word. It is a play on the current is-

sues that are continually arising between police and citizens, many of whom are portrayed by
the media as black. Many other races are obviously involved in the violence, but it is basically
dumbed down to the term black. It is explaining how the police brutality is being hidden from
the media, and how police try to act innocent when caught in the act. The cartoon was created
by Steve Sack, with Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He calls it the Fergusons Police way of dealing with journalists. It definitely relates to the issues that are occurring in Ferguson and neighboring cities, and the racial conflict that is still problematic to this day.

In this particular ad, the artist uses logos, by showing the number of police ocer to

citizen ratio with the citizens outnumbering the police ocer, yet theyre still under his control.
In the cartoon there is no obvious motive as to why the ocer is holding them at gunpoint, but
it is obvious that the ocer is more fearful of the journalist, than the citizens which also says
that the police brutality can be without reason. The artist boldly portrays all of the citizens as
having darker skin, but both the ocer and journalists figures having lighter skins tones showing a segregation of race.

Ethos is used in this cartoon to validate its meaning by adding the name of the city Fer-

guson, because that is where a lot of police brutality has recently taken place. The artist also
portrays the ocer in a uniform, which is essentially creates some sort of authority of the ocer. The uniform also portrays the power of the ocer. He could also be portraying the ocer

thinking that he has more power than he actually does because of his uniform. The author took
some time adding each of these details to really validate the cartoon, and make it meaningful
and truthful. Although it is a political cartoon, and it pokes some fun at all ocers in general, it
takes on a really serious tone because of the recent encounters in Ferguson.

In this cartoon, pathos is very present. Pathos is portrayed in the facial expressions of

each of the characters. The victims look very scared and confused, which creates a sense of
fear for them, even though we may not know the situation and what is happening. The ocers
face has a look of anger and he also appears to be startled by the journalist. Both the ocer
and the citizens are yelling Dont Shoot, each with dierent meanings. This of course, is a
play on words by the artists. The journalists facial expression looks either emotionless or slightly startled, but both his and the ocers stance show no intention to stand down. It also shows
each of them at an equal distance from each other, explaining that the journalist is just as big of
a threat to the ocer as the ocer is to the citizens.

Although the only words in the cartoon are dont shoot, it is very obvious what the

artist, Steve Sack, is visualizing. He definitely took into account the little details of this piece
and made it very easy for many to understand. He is anti-police brutality, and is apparent about
his opinion of what is happening and that it is morally wrong. There are many people that can
probably agree with and relate to this cartoon and its meaning. Ethos, pathos, and logos are
obvious in the drawing because of the uniforms, facial expressions, and number of characters.
There is definitely some truth and something to be learned from this political cartoon.