Gary Markstein's Political Cartoon: The Iraq War

Deriving from the Dutch word “karton” and the Italian word “cartone,” a cartoon is “ a form of two dimensional illustrated visual art” (toonsmag). A cartoon can typically range from being a child’s pastime to going as far as confronting the socioeconomic and political issues in a country. People known as editorial cartoonists draw these cartoons, often called political or editorial cartoons, using tools such as hyperbole, artistic proficiency, and satire in order to poke fun at and inform the public about a certain issue. One famous editorial cartoonist who is known for his cartoonist is Gary Markstein. “The Iraq Surge”, one of Markstein’s lesser-known works, and the “Five years in Iraq” both deal with the Iraq War. The Iraq war was an invasion

Juxtaposition is defined as “the act of place two or more things side by side” (Merriam-Webster). Markstein juxtaposes two scenes together in his cartoon: one of George Bush in the White House and the other of the Grim Reaper sitting in a chair. The juxtaposition of these two scenes creates a link between them. The Grim Reaper, in this cartoon, is merely a façade for our president’s ulterior motives and his consequences. This is most likely a hit at President Bush since he was public blamed for the deaths of “ nearly half a million people who have died from war related causes” (Abrams). Despite the rising death toll, President George Bush, infamously, still requested at least twenty thousand extra troops be poured into Iraq (Abrams). Another curious observation I made while glancing at the cartoon was that the Grim Reaper had no discernable facial features. This could be another hint dropped by the artist stating that the President Bush is acting based on the interests that both he and the Grim Reaper share. The viewers can assume from a lack of facial features that President Bush is merely a puppet of the Grim Reaper. In the “Five year’s in Iraq” cartoon the three billion dollar cost casket is juxtaposed between the Sunni and Shi’ite caskets. The placement of these caskets shows that despite the crippling debt we face due to the Iraq War, the human damage is simply sickening. This political cartoon attempts to dissuade Congress from continuing the war effort and informs the audience about the true cost of this war on terror. The caskets for the Sunni and Shi’ite are proportionally larger and placed purposefully in the center of the cartoon, however the death of American soldiers and the cost of the war are placed off to the side and is smaller, respectively. This prioritizes the consequences as a result of the US led invasion of Iraq. It lets one infer