My first job as a teenager was that of a paper girl. I remember waking up early in the morning before the sun came up, getting the papers ready for delivery, and reading the funny section of the paper before I would go out and deliver the newspaper out to my customers. It was a hard job and it did not last long, but it was at this point in my life that I fell in love with cartoons, and have been in love with them ever since. A few of my favorite cartoons are Garfield, Heathcliff, Marmaduke, Peanuts, Family Circus, and Ziggy. I would follow them religiously every morning and they always made me laugh.
Cartoons are one of the few simple joys in life. You can always count on a cartoon to enlighten you or your mood. They do more than just amuse us cartoons can be used as a communication medium by making light of social issues facing us today. Cartoons can be political in nature, editorial in nature, educational and just plain funny. Many times children can respond and learn better with cartoons because they are fun, hold the child’s interest and not threatening. Political cartoons can bring up issues regarding our government and politics in a fun unassuming way. They get us thinking about things. They can bring to the forefront many touchy issues that we may not want to deal with and get us thinking about them in a productive way. Reading a cartoon is a great way to release tension and have a good laugh while you are at it. You can find cartoons almost anywhere and they are accessible to just about anyone. They are in newspapers, comic books, the internet and on television.
Cartoons are entertaining; they hold our interest and are an American way of life. How many people have never read Peanuts? My guess is probably not many. How many people have never read a cartoon? I think it is safe to assume that there probably are not many people who have never read a cartoon either. I remember reading Peanuts and wondering what would Lucy do to poor Charlie Brown today? No matter how bad the new is in the paper, on television, or on the internet we can always turn to a cartoon to lift our spirits and have a laugh before we start our day. Cartoons are a medium that practically everyone can enjoy. I have never heard of anybody who hated cartoons although there might be some but not many. They are just too cute and funny not to love.
Cartoons have been around forever it seems and more and more of them are popping up every day. As long as there are newspapers, the internet, and politics, cartoons will thrive. They are also a part of our American culture whether we want to believe it or not. They are right up there with as baseball and apple pie. Just as long as we have freedom of the press, we will have cartoons that challenge it and get people thinking.
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Your blog was very fun to read. I was interested in yours newspaper delivering career! I wrote my blog on the same prompt. I told the story about how my grandma saved the Sunday newspaper just for the cartoons. She called them the funnies. She would be like “I saved you guys the funnies to read.” Every time I think of that it reminds me of my childhood. But I agreed with you on your blog post. Editorial cartoons can help children learn better because they can keep them interested. Cartoons keep anyone interest and can help people learn more about what they are representing. I found your blog relating to the same views that I have about editorial cartoons.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, it brought back memories from my childhood when I use to read cartoons. My favorite was Calvin and Hobbes, I would grab the paper from my dad every Sunday and go straight to the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. They always made me laugh and I once even had my parents buy me a book with all of the past Calvin and Hobbes comics ever made. I agree with what you said that "Cartoons are one of the few simple joys in life. You can always count on a cartoon to enlighten you or your mood. They do more than just amuse us cartoons can be used as a communication medium by making light of social issues facing us today." I also agree that Cartoons are apart of American culture, they will be around in my opinion for a lifetime. I don't read cartoons as much as I use to but every now and again I'll flip to the Calvin and Hobbes comic and catch up on my childhood.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this subject, because when I was growing up (actually I still do it today) I would get a newspaper everyday and read the comic pages. If I only have five minutes to read a newspaper, I start with the comics, and then the news. In fact I think any form of media which does not have at least one cartoon in it, is not worth reading, because they obviously take themselves too seriously. For this reason, I agree, it’s true when you say “Cartoons are one of the few simple joys in life.” In our lives, we sometime are too busy to realize the “simple joys” around us. I recall an event when I was a little boy, looking at the cartoon, with a man being beaten by two women who wanted him, and laugh so hard with my sisters and brothers, even though I did not fully understand the meaning of it. We just found it funny to see that picture of the man’s expression.
ReplyDeleteNow, I see my sons are doing the same. They just laugh at what they see on the cartoon, while I just smile and think “is that man so lucky to be wanted by two women that he is willing to be beat by them”? For sure, I am glad I am not him! Those cartoons give us, the adults the deeper thinking toward our lives more than just what we see, and that’s where the “simple joys” come along, I believe.
Yes, “Cartoons have been around forever it seems and more and more of them are popping up every day”, and as long as we have a little sense of humor in personality, we can see and accept them everywhere.