View the gallery “Cartoons: Donald Trump and Puerto Rico” (new tab). This gallery, compiled by Steve Dempsey (Mercury News, 2017), is a collection of illustrations made by syndicated cartoonists that pick on President Donald Trump’s lack of response time to the Puerto Rico hurricane disaster.
In this exercise, you will compare the “Cartoons: Donald Trump and Puerto Rico” exhibit and the 1898 Political Cartoons Gallery.
- Describe the recurring symbols and labels used to make their points
- What are the artists from the Mercury News gallery mocking?
- What are the main themes covered in this collection?
- Establish comparisons between Dempsey’s gallery and the 1898 Cartoon Gallery. In terms of depictions of Puerto Ricans how similar are both galleries? How are they different?
- Do cartoonists today use the same persuasive techniques as back in the 1890s? Which ones seem more prominent and for which purposes? Which ones are remarkably different?
- Compare and contrast both audiences (today’s and 1890’s).
- What perceptions of Caribbeans, in this case, Puerto Ricans, have been perpetuated throughout the century?
