Obesity has been a constantly growing problem in the United States, with the amount of overweight American citizens increasing rapidly, in the past few decades especially. “Although Americans ' body weight had been increasing incrementally during the last century, obesity skyrocketed between 1976–80 and 2009–10, from 15% to 35.7%” (Wexler 1. 2). The highly talked about issue deserves sympathetic recognition and a helping hand, not the continuous ridicule it receives, as depicted in this CDT cartoon. Many Americans who suffer from weight problems suffer from them due to health issues, hereditary or otherwise, such as problems with the thyroid or an eating disorder, and are physically unable to lose weight, no matter how hard they try. These
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The main focus of the cartoon is a man who is obese, depicted with distorted proportions that are not realistic to an actual obese person. The man is also depicted with pig-like characteristics rather than actual human-like ones to further dehumanize and humiliate him and other people who suffer from problems with their weight. Furthermore, the man is shown in an outfit covered in targets, which one can infer is symbolic of him being the object of ridicule due to the way he looks. A slight example of this ridicule is seen in the other two characters of the cartoon: two trick-or-treaters who have come to the man’s door. One of the children says to him, “hey, great pig costume, Mister!” (CDT). It seems as though the child is naive to the fact that this is what the man actually looks like and that he, in fact, is not wearing a Halloween costume, however, it would be insulting to him nonetheless. The confused, yet shocked, look on the face of the man as well as the thought bubble above his head tells viewers that he is, indeed, stunned by the brash comment the child has just made on his …show more content…
Making a mockery of something- especially a person- is not an effective way to make a difference. Considering the emotional and mental complications that often correlate with weight issues (be it over or under), the cartoon at hand is extremely insensitive to anyone who is currently experiencing or has ever experienced any troubles with their weight.
Within recent years, obesity has been a very highly talked about topic in the United States, as the percentage of obesity in its citizens is rising. While a very serious subject matter with a various number of negative health factors correlating to it, it is often talked about as the object of a joke. CDT choose to go the route of mockery in this cartoon, with the center focus of it being an innocent person being put to shame, solely based on the way they
The main focus of the cartoon is a man who is obese, depicted with distorted proportions that are not realistic to an actual obese person. The man is also depicted with pig-like characteristics rather than actual human-like ones to further dehumanize and humiliate him and other people who suffer from problems with their weight. Furthermore, the man is shown in an outfit covered in targets, which one can infer is symbolic of him being the object of ridicule due to the way he looks. A slight example of this ridicule is seen in the other two characters of the cartoon: two trick-or-treaters who have come to the man’s door. One of the children says to him, “hey, great pig costume, Mister!” (CDT). It seems as though the child is naive to the fact that this is what the man actually looks like and that he, in fact, is not wearing a Halloween costume, however, it would be insulting to him nonetheless. The confused, yet shocked, look on the face of the man as well as the thought bubble above his head tells viewers that he is, indeed, stunned by the brash comment the child has just made on his …show more content…
Making a mockery of something- especially a person- is not an effective way to make a difference. Considering the emotional and mental complications that often correlate with weight issues (be it over or under), the cartoon at hand is extremely insensitive to anyone who is currently experiencing or has ever experienced any troubles with their weight.
Within recent years, obesity has been a very highly talked about topic in the United States, as the percentage of obesity in its citizens is rising. While a very serious subject matter with a various number of negative health factors correlating to it, it is often talked about as the object of a joke. CDT choose to go the route of mockery in this cartoon, with the center focus of it being an innocent person being put to shame, solely based on the way they