Obama Winning The Award Essay

The comic portrays the Nobel Committee with pure intentions and filled with hope, but also uses irony to highlight the absurdity of Obama winning the award. Humorously titled “Heavy Medal,” the comic depicts the Nobel Committee as a large, wizened, old man. He is shown instilling hope and trust in the newly elected President Obama, without any signs of manipulation of trickery, when he simply awards President Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize. There are no “shady deals” or unscrupulous promises made between the two, the Committee plainly believes that Obama is worthy of the award. The scene is an all white background, showing the seemingly simplicity of the decision the Nobel Committee had to make, which further exemplifies the pure intentions of the Committee. The words of the Committee Offical perfectly summarize …show more content…
Hope you run a good race.” The emphasis on ‘hope’ shows the Committee to be optimistic of President Obama to the point of ridiculousness. By bestowing the award on Obama before the race even happens, they are showing how they value plans and promises more than they value actions. The absurdity of the award is also revealed through other aspects of the cartoon, like the fact that Obama is the only one running. The fact that no one else is depicted running is significant because it further emphasizes the point that Obama won simply by showing up, and being elected into office. According to the cartoon, he ran unopposed and because of that ‘hope’ was a good enough reason in the eye’s of the Committee to grant him the award.

The article is more cynical about the Nobel Committee’s motivations, characterizing the award as incentive to ensure the President follows through on his promises and also discusses how giving the award to Obama compromises the overall integrity of the award. Blaming the Norwegian Branch of the Committee for unprincipled