Vis Argument pt2 - Grade: B+ PDF

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A visual analysis on a political carton about gun violence and mental illness....

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English 101: Visual Analysis Joseph Cruse 19 September 2018

Mental Health vs Gun Control Many artists express their opinions and views through controversial images. One artist Nick Anderson expresses his opinion on gun control through political cartoons. One political cartoon is, Access to mental health care. Guns!! Come right in. Open. Welcome. In this image Anderson expresses his thoughts about how hard it is to gain mental health care, but how easy it is for anyone to access a gun. The political cartoon shows two buildings, a mental health care facility and a gun shop, the mental health facility is very high up and has many steps to get to the top and the gun shop is very welcoming, and the door is wide open for people to walk into. There are also two people incorporated into the cartoon, one of the characters is on top of the mental health care facility, sitting in a chair smoking a pipe, reading a magazine, with a lamp next to him and not worried about his surroundings, the other character seems to be a mental health patient in need of help standing in between the two buildings smiling at the gun shop. Nick Andersons audience is everyone who has tried to gain mental health care and has failed. Anderson uses many devices to get his message across.

Nick Andersons images have a certain audience. His audience is people who think gun control is an issue and those who think the way mental health is being handle is an issue. This image is also for those who do not agree with the second amendment, which is the right to bare arms. His images also appeal to people who believe that mental health care should be more accessible to those who really need it. Nick Anderson’s image could also be seen as an eye opener to those who are for the second amendment. Anderson’s reason of creating this political cartoon could be directed at those who would think that the image is useless and make no sense. Anderson’s political cartoon image appeals to pathos and logos. It appeals to pathos because it uses emotions. This image deals with a person emotion because some might feel bad for those who can not easily access mental health care. It also appeals emotional because of the heinous crimes that happen due to gun violence. This political cartoon appeals to logos because its logical that mental health care access in more important that access to guns. One way that Anderson gets his point across is the coloring he uses throughout his political cartoon. The coloring of the image is a gloom blue and black. Anderson uses these colors to set a depressing mood. The color of the image has a lot to do with the message. Since it is a harsh topic the colors are dark and gloomy and if the image had a positive message the colors would be bright and happy. The blueish grey sky goes along with the issues of guns being so available and mental health cared being so hard to access. Anderson does add a little bit of colorfulness in the image. The colorfulness of the image is in and around the gun shop. The “COME RIGHT IN” and “OPEN” signs are both a pinkish red color, and Anderson does this to highlight the fact that anyone and everyone can go into a gun shop and buy a gun. The rest of the text in the image is dull and black because he wants to attract the readers eye the gun shop.

Another way that Anderson shares his views is with text size. In the image the word “GUNS” is on top of the gun shop, front and center, with a black background it is also in all caps, in bolded font, and followed by a smiley face. Also, the phrases “COME RIGHT IN” “OPEN” and “WELCOME” are all capitalized. There is also a red arrow pointing inside the building welcoming costumers in. Anderson does this because text size plays a big role is this image because the larger text size attracts the readers eye. Just like in real life, the gun shop in the image is very inviting and welcoming. On the other hand, the mental health care facility is the exact opposite. The mental health care facility only has five words on it “ACESSES TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE” the words are in all caps but, the phrase is at very bottom and they found is also very small and skinny. Anderson does this because mental health care and mental health its self is so over looked and not cared about. The contrast of the two buildings is so different. The mental health care building should be welcoming and inviting, and the gun shop shouldn’t be as welcoming and accessible as it is. Nick Anderson also gets his views across with the composition of the image. The composition of an image includes the placement or arrangement of visual elements. In this image Anderson executes the composition very well as another way to get his point across to the audience. The access to mental health building is very high up with four stairs, this shows how hard it is to get health care and that patients must go through so much to get something that should be easily accessible. The gun shop building on the other hand is a very welcoming building that has the door wide open for costumers to walk in. Another part of the imagine composition is the two characters. One of the characters, is on top of the mental health care building sitting in a chair, he is smoking a pipe, reading a magazine, with a lamp beside him and not worried about his surroundings. This symbolizes the lack of development and lack of focus

on mental health. The second character, a mental health patient, is in between the two buildings and he is eyeing the gun shop. This is a symbol of the fact that mental health patients can have access to guns even thought they are not in the right state to handle a gun. The angle of the image is also a part of the composition. The angle of this image from a low point of view. Anderson made the picture from a low point of view to showcase and over exaggerate the staircase to the mental health care. He also made the picture from a low point of view to show the character on top of the mental health building. Nick Anderson does an excellent job at displaying his opinions through his image. He uses the color of the image, the text in the image and the composition of the image. In this political carton Anderson expresses his thoughts about how hard it is to gain mental health care, but how easy it is for anyone, even someone with series mental health issues to access a gun. Nick Anderson appeals to people who think gun control is an issue and those who think that mental health care should be more available, and he does this by incorporating pathos and logos into his political cartoon.

Works Cited Anderson, Nick. Access to mental health care. Guns!! Come right in. Open. Welcome. 2011, Nick Anderson's Editorial Cartoons www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-Gun+violenceComics-and-Cartoons-by-Nick+Anderson%27s+Editorial+Cartoons.php/2 Accessed 21 Sept 2018....