Rhetorical analysis on political cartoon

Running Head: WASSERMAN’S TAKE

1

Wasserman’s Take on 400 Parts Per Million Student A University of Kentucky

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

2 Abstract

Daniel Wasserman shows others that climate change is an important issue in his humorous cartoon “Levels of CO2 Rapidly Rising.” His name carries much ethos due to an award-winning career of cartooning over 25 years long. His political views align with that of the Boston Globe, the newspaper for which he draws, and they also agree with the views of most of the people that would see his work, further boosting his ethos in the eyes of the audience. In this particular cartoon, he used the recent report of researchers recording milestone concentrations of carbon dioxide in Mauna Loa. Wasserman adds ethos to the liberal side of environmentalism by personifying the view as an informed, well-read woman and contrasting her with a severely mistaken man in a suit, who represents the conservative view. In this manner, the man’s silly responses to the woman complement Wasserman’s purpose by employing pathos through humor to help others understand his position.

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

3 Wasserman’s Take on 400 Parts Per Million

In the above editorial cartoon, Dan

Wasserman exaggerates the ignorance of

Figure 1. The Boston Globe released this cartoon “Levels of CO2 Rapidly Rising” by Dan Wasserman on May 20, 2013.

conservatives to effectively promote awareness about climate change. He uses the ethos associated with this name and The Boston Globe as well as the ethos and pathos present in the cartoon to establish the opposing liberal viewpoint that environmentalism is an important issue and not to be overlooked.

Wasserman has worked to become an incredibly respected cartoonist. He has drawn for the Boston Globe editorial page since 1985 (The Boston Globe, 2013). Furthermore, his work is distributed to many other newspapers and magazines by Tribune Media Services. His cartoons

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

4

have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, Time, Newsweek, and the Economist.

Additionally, he was a finalist for the H.L. Mencken Human Rights Award for cartooning, and in 1991 he was awarded both the George Washing Medal of Honor for Public Communications by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge and the Standing O Award from the Massachusetts Human Services Coalition (Tribune Content Agency, 2013). Wasserman’s credentials show that he is not only experienced but also accomplished in his field of work. His name comes attached with recognition and respect. By simply writing his name, he adds all associated ethos to the cartoon.

Because Wasserman works for the editorial section of the Boston Globe, he represents the official view of the newspaper, and as whole, the paper generally lies left on most issues. The views of Wasserman and the paper reach almost 1.3 million people, or about one-fourth of the adults in the Greater Boston (Boston Globe Services, 2012). Generally, large metropolitan areas vote Democratic during elections, meaning Wasserman’s work will be seen by a large number of people who are primarily liberal. The readers know that he will draw a cartoon that is usually already in agreement with their views. Knowing this, Wasserman’s job as a political cartoonist becomes much simpler. He and his primary audience share the same general opinions. He doesn’t have to convince people to support environmentalism; he only has to strengthen or reaffirm their position, a much easier task. As long as he doesn’t draw something offensive or too extreme, he will continue to have the trust, respect, and support of his readers.

To give more context to the cartoon, measurements taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii on May 9, 2013 showed that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) had reached 400 parts per million (ppm), confirmed by both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The statistic signifies a

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

5

milestone in the history of rising CO2 levels since record-keeping at Mauna Loa began 55 years ago, and it is thought that the current level might be the highest concentration in possibly 3 million years. To be fair, May is the month when CO2 levels peak due to a combination of seasonal plant cycles and the greater amount of landmass in the northern hemisphere (we can see a fluctuation in the graph below). In fact, measurements of 400ppm were recorded in the Artic a year ago. However, Mauna Loa is a much more accurate representation of the atmospheric concentration of the entire earth than measurements taken in the Artic (Kunzig, 2013).

Figure 2. Concentration of CO2, plotted by month from September 2012 to 2013.

Black points represent daily averages, blue bars represent weekly averages, and blue bars represent monthly averages.

Because this cartoon was published soon after the data was reported, it shows that Wasserman is knowledgeable and very up-to-date on current events, which everyone working for a newspaper strives to be. His ethos is even further boosted because the 400ppm statistic didn’t seem to be a very prominent headline. According to Andrew Simms (2013) from the Guardian, the statistic caused “barely a ripple” and “newspapers…were mostly uninterested.” Honestly, I

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

6

didn’t know about the milestone until I saw the cartoon and researched the issue further. We can be fairly certain that Wasserman picked up on the small story because the chance he randomly the number 400 is infinitesimally small. Factor in the timing, and the chances that the number was all a coincidence become literally zero. By using the 400ppm statistic, Wasserman shows that he is informed and well-read, and he begins to develop his ethos in the actual cartoon.

Within the cartoon, Wasserman presents two sides; the man in the suit represents a stereotypically conservative, big business CEO, and the woman with the glasses symbolize the liberal view and essentially Wasserman’s position. Ethos continues to be the primary appeal. The woman holds a paper about climate change. She is wearing glasses, which are often used to improve sight for reading. Wasserman is showing that she is well-read. The woman is also wearing what looks to be a lab coat, suggesting that she may even be a researcher. In a way, Wasserman projects himself onto the woman as an informed individual. On the other hand, the man has no reference materials nor does he look to the paper the woman is reading to inform himself. The ethos for the liberal side has an advantage over the conservative side after only the first panel. The third panel shows the man dismissing the fact that CO2 concentrations have reached 400ppm. This is interpreted as equivalent to the conservative side dismissing the issue of climate change. By the fourth panel, the ethos for the conservative side is destroyed after the man misunderstands “parts per million.” The man’s hand gestures and the way that he’s exclaiming his words suggest that he is very confident in his quick rebuttal, exacerbating his mistake. The cartoon clearly depicts the conservative viewpoint to be both uninformed and ignorant of environmental issues.

The cartoon contains very little logos. The only legitimate form of logos is the use of the 400ppm statistic, but Wasserman doesn’t go on to explain its actual significance (which is a

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

7

necessary decision for the sake of humor). Analytically looking at the cartoon reveals multiple fallacies, none of which can produce a strong argument. The cartoon could be interpreted as an ad hominem since the Wasserman is attacking the conservative side by showing the man in the suit to be uninformed. In addition, Wasserman is using a straw man because he is purposely manipulating the opposing viewpoint to be depicted as an ignorant man. Because Wasserman receives full control of the parameters, he can easily to mock and deride that fictional man.

However, Wasserman’s job isn’t to write logically sound arguments. His medium is cartoons, which must be kept short and quick. He has time or space in the newspaper to develop a legitimate argument, and he doesn’t need to do so because the majority of his audience already agrees with his views. He doesn’t need to persuade; instead Wasserman aims to state his position on the importance of climate change while getting a chuckle out of people. I would say that using little to no logos is preferable for this particular situation.

The pathos in the cartoon is limited to mostly humor. Even if you were unaware of the underlying significance of 400ppm, you could still probably deduce that the conservative man’s response is a clear miscomprehension. The man’s confidence in his retort makes the cartoon funnier, as does the fact that the woman’s previously nonexistent eyes “bug out” as single dots from underneath her glasses. At this point, it doesn’t matter as much which way a reader leans politically. Even though liberals might find it a bit funnier than conservatives, hopefully everyone can see that man’s response was ridiculous and laugh. Ideally, the humor makes people ease up and able to understand Wasserman’s point of view. The cartoon is meant to be lighthearted, not serious, which is why it contains a clear and strong example of pathos present and not one for logos.

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

8

An interesting note is that the woman oversimplifies the issue of climate change. The 400ppm is only a milestone because it’s a round number; nothing catastrophic like “floods, drough and rising sea levels” (Wasserman, 2013) occurs directly because we surpassed that mark. Instead, the problem manifests itself slowly and continually over time. Therefore, the woman commits a small slippery slope, yet another fallacy. However, this instance is unique it occurs in the dialogue, which is a chance to directly state a claim on behalf of the liberal side.

Wasserman has an opportunity to make a logically sound argument, but instead he turns it down.

I believe that he does not want to depict the liberal side as overly dominant to the conservative side, and by including the slippery slope he subtly weakens the liberal position. Though his audience is mostly liberal, it is not completely liberal and will never be completely liberal. There is still a balance, and the cartoon accurately illustrates that balance by having both sides technically unable to construct an effective argument, even though the man’s inability is much more blatant. This serves to keep the cartoon appealing to the widest range of people possible, which I think is an excellent, conscious decision that boosts his ethos as a cartoonist.

By choosing to draw a cartoon about the recent milestone of the rising concentration of CO2, Wasserman brings more attention to the significance of climate change and environmentalism as an issue that needs to be confronted and not simply ignored. He uses his credibility as a cartoonist and his reach through the Boston Globe to spread awareness to many people, and he proceeds to employ primarily ethos and pathos in his cartoon to reaffirm his stance that climate change needs to be addressed.

WASSERMAN’S TAKE

9 References

Boston Globe Services (2012) Weekly Boston Globe Coverage –Total. Retrieved from http://services.bostonglobe.com/advertiser/newspapers/audience/default.aspx?id=12758 Kunzig, R. (2013, May 9). Climate Milestone: Earth’s CO2 Level Passes 400 ppm. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/05/130510-earth-co2-milestone400-ppm/ One Year of CO2 Daily and Weekly Means at Mauna Loa [graph]. (2013). Retrieved September 21, 2013, from: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html Simms, A. (2013, May 30). Why did the 400ppm carbon milestone cause barely a ripple? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/may/30/carbon-milestonenewspapers The Boston Globe. (2013). Staff List. Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/staff/wasserman Tribune Content Agency. (2013) Dan Wasserman. Retrieved from http://www.tmsfeatures.com/bio/dan-wasserman/ Wasserman, D. (Cartoonist). (2013). Levels of CO2 Rapidly Rising [Editiorial Cartoon], Retrieved September 21, 2013 from: http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/05/20/editorial-cartoon-levels-risingrapidly/v5dNINe7Kz7SqOIJFtUDXJ/story.html