Mona Caron Dystopia

Mona Caron is an, artist, activist, and the creator of the political cartoon, "Dystopia," which appeared as part of a dual cover in Other Magazine in February, 2005 (Caron). The definition of dystopia is, "a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding" ("Dystopia"). Carson vividly displays this in her illustration. The top row shows a man in a suit sitting in a comfortable chair in an office who appears to be a chief executive officer. In the background are many high rise buildings encompassed by clear, blue skies. Surrounding the man, are two rows of police officers facing a row of people, which alludes to corporate America's control over society. The center of the illustration appears to be families

The families sitting on couches lack any diversity and are all watching television. In between each set is a voter box. Intimidating police officers holding machine guns and wearing protective gear are facing these families, which symbolizes control and dominance. This scene, combined with the one above with the chief executive officer, conveys the message that corporate America controls the media and as a result, controls voters. This is a faulty generalization, since some companies follow a moral compass and do not exert power and manipulation. But, some corporations are unethical and strategically exploit and control government policies, public opinion, and stifle all opposition (Alvesson and Willmont 150). Another fallacy is stereotyping inaccurately based upon prejudice (Paul and Edler 3). Most of the people in these two scenes depict Caucasian people in upper class as being and over-weight, which is inaccurate since obesity is statistically more prevalent in minorities and people in lower socio-economic classes (Hillier-Brown). Caron's use of stereotypes conveys the intended message but regrettably they are logical fallacies. These fallacies hurt the artist's logos appeal and minimize the persuasive effect on the viewers ("The Three"). This image's presence of logos provokes a rational response but it is weak due to the absence of statistical data to support Caron's argument. Avoiding stereotypes when representing business people and the people of the middle class would have strengthened the artist's logos and ethos and still conveyed the intended message regarding