“Happy Independence Day”

Mattie Gibson

What do you see?

• The first thing I saw in the cartoon was the Oil container. Then I followed the chain that leads to the man saying “Happy Independence Day”. The man is wearing American. His expression is helpless. His hand is reaching out as if trying to get help.

Why is the Oil container bigger than the man?

• America is dependent on oil. So the oil is a large part of our lives. The container dominates the picture, as if it was more important than the man.

Point of view

• The image is seen from someone who does not agree with using foreign oil. They believe that it only makes America more dependent on other countries.

Why is the man chained?

• The man is chained to the oil because America needs oil. Americas are not truly independent because we still rely foreign products, such as oil.

Font

• The words “Happy Independence Day” all have different font types. This represents Americans’ different views on the using foreign oil.

What does the lighting effect?

• The light is brighter around the man. It is darker around the oil can. This adds the good guy, bad guy effect. The darker light would be like the antagonist side, and the bright light would be like the protagonist side.

Audience

• The cartoon would be meant for Americans. It would not be for political figures alone because America is a democracy. Therefore, all the people would need to see this.

Logos

• The argument tin the picture is a “logical argument”. Americans are still ,in a way, largely dependent on other nations. Therefore, America is enslaved by the necessity of foreign oil. If we were to use our own oil, than the man saying Happy Independence Day could really celebrate it.

Ethos

• According to http://maps.unomaha.edu/peterson/funda/sidebar/oilconsumption.html the U.S. imports about oil from countries such as Canada, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Mexico. If we used our own oil instead of buying oil from other countries, we could have 13 million dollars per hour(13 million dollars is paid every hour for oil according to the National Resources Defense Council).

Pathos

• Using foreign oil takes a lot of money form the U.S. We could make jobs because people would have to drill the oil. The money saved could go towards paying off our huge debt, to further guarantee our true freedom as Americans so the next generations do not have to grow up depending on foreign countries as much as past generations have.

Source

• http://eharpe001.blogspot.com/2008/09/observation-selecting-visual-rhetoric.html

Background

• Title: Happy Independence Day• Time period: unknown• Artist: Jim Morin• Published: The Miami Herald• Historical Content: America’s true freedom