Political Cartoon report

Political cartoons have portrayed the actions and traits of politicians for many years, serving as parodies to some of the most notable events in political history. These cartoonists strive to visually show the truth behind the country's figureheads and can put any unsuspecting politician in the spotlight.

Political Anthropomorphism

For the first report, I made a perfectly innocuous illustration of David Cameron giving a speech in front of 10 Downing Street, but gave him a pig's head instead. This refers to the scandal of him allegedly "having relations" with a pig, but also shows the stereotype of the Prime Minister being greedy in terms of the economy. (1)

Exaggerated Features

For the second report, I made a coloured illustration of Ed Miliband, looking distraught. In this image, I exaggerated his nose and lower half of his face, to emphasise the size of his nose and the looseness of his cheeks. I decided to make his face red with embarrassment and his suit is ruffled, maybe after coming back from a disastrous speech. I gave him a "Vote Bacon" badge as a reference to Miliband's idolization of David Cameron. (2)

Cartoon Strip

For the third report, I made a black-and-white political cartoon strip, referencing the recent involvement of ISIS terrorists with European attacks. Ironically, the fear-mongerers are scared off by the dirty nature of London's politicians - the "Rats". At the end, DaPig Cameron makes an appearance, which serves to show that maybe he shouldn't bad-mouth other politicians when he himself has his own political shortcomings. (3) (4)

Visual Metaphor

For the final report, I created a muti-layered graphic illustration, parodying the famous Obama "Hope" poster. In my version, "Pope," I used the likeness of Pope Francis to mirror the promises of himself and Barack Obama, during their initial year(s) as Pope and President, respectively. I managed to invoke the same thematic expression of the original work by using the same colours and style. (5) (6)

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(1) (David Cameron / 10 Downing Street reference image from The Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11563550/David-Cameron-My-plan-for-the-Tories-first-100-days-in-power.html - Accessed 5/12/2015)

(2) (Ed Miliband reference image from The Spectator - http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/04/how-ed-miliband-lost-the-jewish-vote/ - Accessed 6/12/2015)

(3) (Houses of Parliament reference image from e-architect - http://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/houses-parliament - Accessed 5/12/2015)

(4) (House of Commons reference image from The Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11307612/How-weve-brought-the-House-of-Commons-into-the-21st-century.html - Accessed 5/12/2015)

(5) (Pope Francis reference image from Biography - http://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349 - Accessed 7/12/2015)

(6) (Barack Obama reference image from Esquire - http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/interviews/a35288/shepard-fairey-street-art-obama-hope-poster/ - Accessed 7/12/2015. Original poster design by Shepard Fairey.)