The media affects our lives in ways we do not even realize. The news media chases after stories filled with tragedy and despair. It seems that they care more for the suspense of a story rather than the victims or people involved. The media provides us with a variety of information ranging from the latest crimes to what your favorite superstar does in their free time. Our infatuation with news is leading to the invasion of our privacy. For example, the media intrudes into the private lives of celebrities. Any secrets that they can dig up are then exposed to the public. A lot of the media is all about gossip and what's going to grab the audience's attention enough to pull in good ratings. The media gives little regard to respecting people that they exploit. +Using the principle of "the medium is the message" as exposed by Marshall McLuhan, one can explore comics as a "cool medium." *Comics such as The Far side, Mad, etc. can be humorous in the way it makes fun of the aspects of politics, society, and nature.
First, comics provide humor by degrading and mocking politics. Often they crack jokes on political leaders and their past and present private lives. For example, the Bill Clinton cartoon with a picture of him holding a joint and dialogue saying, "I never inhaled". The recent comic in Newsweek magazine depicts how to get Elian back to Cuba. It has a picture of a large ugly Janet Reno saying, "Come give auntie Janet a big hug and kiss." Beside Janet is a picture of Elian on the phone saying, "Hello, Dad? When can we leave for Cuba?" In this senerio the comic takes the tense situation and makes it humorous. In order to find these comics funny one must know about the political situation each is portraying. The medium can be seen as what the cartoon is representing in politics. .
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