Introduction

Our humor unit began in English where we read “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut. This book used blue humor, satire, and various other humor techniques that we studied. When the Humor Project was introduced to us, I decided to make a political cartoon because I had seen them often in my history classes and I liked the idea of conveying a message through images and humor.

Inspiration

I was inspired by the cartoonists Drew Sheneman and Matt Davies. Below are a political cartoon from each artist.

Like most political cartoonists, Sheneman uses the technique of caricature to emphasize certain parts of each of the political figures. The features of the politicians are enlarged or shrunken. He also uses satire to make fun of the politicians who he portrays as clowns. It’s ironic because he includes the quote “We’re not going to turn this confirmation hearing into a circus” at the bottom of the cartoon. 

A relevant issue being debated right now is the lifting of the mask mandate, a topic that Davies has illustrated in a portion of his political cartoons. Both this political cartoon and the one by Sheneman utilize irony to add humor. This is considered dramatic irony because the woman in the cartoon doesn’t realize that the lifting of the mandate would actually lead to the opposite of the desired outcome.

Final Production

Reflection

This Humor Project challenged me more than any other project this year because it involved presenting to an audience. I have always struggled with nerves, so surprised myself by volunteering to go first. I really enjoyed watching others’ performances and I thought this was a great unit to end on. The research I did was fun and educational, and I thought this was overall a good experience and helped me face some of my challenges.