Lucia Rather gave a lecture in the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday that focused on the history, evolution and impact of political cartoons in America. Rather, former director for cataloging at the Library of Congress, said the best political cartoons attack government and society and are often offensive. The most effective political cartoons, she said, are usually edgy and liberal.
“A political cartoon is not just a picture, it’s a graphic illustration of an idea…the purpose is propaganda, not art,” Rather said.
She outlined four elements of political cartoons that help viewers to understand better the meaning behind them, including inspiration, symbols, allusions and humor.
“There has to be an incident or political ferment…that inspires every cartoon,” Rather said. “To understand a cartoon you have to know the history behind it.”
Understanding common symbols such as the Democratic donkey or Uncle Sam is also essential to understanding political cartoons, she said. The third element, literary or cultural allusions, is common in older cartoons but has all but disappeared from modern cartoons because the modern reader doesn’t understand these allusions as well as readers did in the past, Rather explained. She said this is not because people are less educated today, but because people today get more specialized educations and don’t understand allusions to the Bible or popular literature.
The final obvious element is the humor behind every cartoon, Rather said. Understanding the humor comes from a clear knowledge of the time period or political movement, she said.
Rather stressed the importance of a free press to provide an outlet for cartoonists.
She referred to several historical times in which the government or the public has silenced artists or publications because of political cartoons.
Rather also mentioned several instances in which political cartoons were very successful in starting or empowering a political movement or trend. For example, cartoonist Thomas Nast caused much of the initial criticism that led to the demise of the corrupt New York political machine Tammany Hall in the late 1800s.
“It was really entertaining to see how political cartoons influence politics. They’ve been a really interesting way of displaying public opinion,” said Bryson Morgan, a junior in political science and president of the Hinckley Institute Student Association.