Using the political cartoon as his means of swaying opinion, Block understood that a picture with no or few words enabled him to reach a mass audience in ways distinct from journal or newspaper articles. Block published primarily in the Washington Post, but also they were syndicated in other newspapers.

Block’s career illustrated the power of political cartoons to influence opinions. The political cartoon employs several models or approaches, sometimes with one or more of the following elements: exaggerations including caricatures (distorting for effect), symbolism (representing an idea with a picture or an analogy using one situation to explain a different one), labeling (depicting something accurately, different from the first three), irony (the difference between the how things are and how they may be expected to be), and a simple caption (brief words to convey important or ironic ideas).Īmong the collections, we have the Herb Block political cartoons, spanning the Cold War from just after WWII until the 1990s. Also consider the context of when the cartoon appeared and why a cartoon as a source may be useful. When looking at a cartoon or comic, please note that there is often more than one story, not just the surface story.

MAD magazine attacked Senator Joe McCarthy during his communist witch hunts in the 1950s when few others dared to question his tactics. People have often dismissed comics and cartoons as for children, but such images enable creators of these sources to push boundaries beyond what other sources can do. Comics and cartoons offer a powerful way to communicate ideas and beliefs.

Herbert block political cartoons