HY 121: The United States Since 1877: Hurricane Katrina

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"The Living Room Candidate contains more than 300 commercials, from every presidential election since 1952, when Madison Avenue advertising executive Rosser Reeves convinced Dwight Eisenhower that short ads played during such popular TV programs as I Love Lucy would reach more voters than any other form of advertising. This innovation had a permanent effect on the way presidential campaigns are run."

"Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States.Employing the taxonomy of Medhurst and DeSousa (1981), this essay examines the cartoons that attacked President Bush and were generated in the month following Hurricane Katrina. These cartoons made two basic claims: (1) that Bush’s personal and policy decisions were detrimental to
the relief efforts and the victims and (2) that he was lacking the intelligence and integrity
necessary for the successful handling of the situation. An examination of these political cartoons demonstrates cartoons functioned to construct a national kategoria, or speech of accusation. The graphic strategies of size, placement, and relation of text are particularly suited to construct immediate indictments on policy choices and attacks on personal character. Finally, some conclusions as to the potency, both argumentatively and visually, of the political cartoon form are offered."