Yo Amigo Essay

2184 Words9 Pages
Political cartoons often follow the general displeasure with the government through the eyes and perception of the public. They run the gamut from economics to foreign policy and expose all of the follies that are present in society. Whether a person agrees or disagrees with the way a certain topic is portrayed in the cartoon accomplishes the artist’s goal of making their reader stop and ponder for a moment about the issue being covered and how it relates to the individual and or society. Scott Willis’ cartoon “Yo! Amigo!!” depicts a rather rotund male figure, representing developed countries, wailing out of his car, which is emitting a great deal amount of fossil fuels. The man is yelling at a migrant worker, who personifies developing countries, because the worker is about to cut down a tree. The man exclaims, “Yo! Amigo!! We need that tree to protect us from the greenhouse effect.” This political cartoon is a satire and it illustrates a sense of political hierarchy with developed and developing countries in regards to global warming. Scott Willis incorporated the theme of hypocrisy because the developed country is producing more damage to the environment with his gas guzzling motor vehicle. The developed country identifies the migrant worker as being ignorant and believes that the worker doesn’t know about global warming, since he is cutting down a tree. The developed country does not know the purpose for this act; the worker might have to cut down the tree in order to survive. Many times developed countries view themselves as the “good guys” trying to do the proper thing for the rest of the world—secure peace, ensure a clean environment, and help establish an acceptable quality of life worldwide. The manipulation that developed countries undertake, causes the rest of the world to question help from them. The idea that developing countries like India and China
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