TOW 16: "Maus" by Art Siegelman, Part 2.

              In the second half of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” he continues to tell the story of his father, Vladek, and his holocaust experience through visual texts and rhetoric. The events included in this section include Vladek’s release from a Nazi PoW camp, his attempts to hide himself and his family from the Nazi Gestapo, and his attempted escape to Hungary. The fact that this novel is derived from first-person accounts, as well as visual texts, makes for a reading experience much more powerful than it would otherwise achieve.

              Like many WW2 novels, this novel is aimed at bearing witness to the atrocities of the war, specifically, those committed against civilians. The graphics and visuals make it evident that this novel is targeted at a younger generation, a generation that may not have experienced the fear or hysteria that Spiegelman’s father had. Very few holocaust survivors remain, but Spiegelman’s interpretation of his father’s story is able to carry on the message.

              In addition to the ongoing extended metaphor of the Jews as mice and the Nazis as pigs and cats, Spiegelman implements visual representations in the second half. One example occurs on pg. 125. After Vladek’s neighborhood is emptied by the Nazi’s (they took all the Jews to concentration camps while Vladek and a few others successfully hid in secret places), the cartoons depict the roads in the shape of a swastika. This symbolizes how the Nazi’s did not only rob the Jews of their physical possessions and, in some cases, their lives, but they also transformed their identity and the way people think. This is also evident in the way the children chant “Heil Hitler.” Overall, the rhetoric is extremely powerful. Very few novels depict the genocide with the level of empathy that “Maus” does. It goes beyond being an eyewitness account, it puts the reader in the Jew’s place.

TOW 15: "Explosive Speed" Nike Advertisement (Visual Text)

              This advertisement features Neymar, one of the popular soccer players in the world, wearing the (then) new Nike Mercurial Vapor 8s. While explosions come from his footsteps, the slogan “explosive speed” is written beside him. The creators of this advertisement were the most shoe brand in the world, Nike.

              The audience intended for this advertisement is clearly soccer players. Who else would buy soccer cleats? The potential customers are supposed to look at the explosions coming from Neymar’s feet and think “Those cleats will make me run faster!” and look at Neymar himself and think “I want to be like him, so I should buy the cleats he wears.” This ad was launched at the same time as Nike released the Mercurial Vapor 8s. At the time, these were their latest soccer cleats. In order to attract the attention of customers, Nike employed rhetorical devices like hyperbole and ethos. The phrase “explosive speed” written on the side of the advertisement, along with the explosions under Neymar’s feet, are used to indicate that the wearer will be able to accelerate faster hen wearing these particular cleats. Explosions can expand at rates of up to 10,000 meters per second, much faster than a human could ever imagine running, and so this is a hyperbole. Nike also employs the ethos of Neymar. They try to imply that if Neymar uses these cleats and he is one of the best players in the world, then we should use them too.

              Nike’s add, while striking and admirable, is not very effective. Most of the audience knows that the only reason Neymar is wearing Vapor 8s is because Nike paid him too, and that does not make them any more appealing. Also, the “explosive speed” slogan is somewhat meaningless. The advertisement provides nothing to indicate that the cleats will actually make an athlete run faster. This advertisement is, like most of Nike’s, a way for them to flex their financial muscle.

TOW #14: Bernie Sanders and the Defeated Democrats (Visual Text)

         

               

               This cartoon features a trio of defeated donkeys (democrats) pondering how it would have been possible for them to win the election when their opponent, Donald Trump, was so good at connecting himself to the working class. While they conclude that nothing could be done, a worn and tattered poster of Bernie Sanders eyes them from a building behind them. The artist behind this cartoon is David Horsey, a graduate of the University of Washington and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

               Shortly after Hillary Clinton seized the Democratic Party’s nomination, it was revealed that the DNC intentionally rigged its primaries in her favor, and against Bernie Sanders. When Clinton lost the general election to Donald Trump, many pointed fingers at the DNC for nominating an “unelectable” candidate. Horsey’s cartoon expresses an idea that Sanders, who had shown fantastic skill at uniting himself with the people, would have fared better against Donald Trump than Clinton. Horsey uses this cartoon as an attack towards the DNC. In their effort to keep the nomination away from Bernie Sanders, they only hurt themselves.

              The artist uses dramatic irony in this cartoon to portray how obvious the DNC’s wrongdoings were. The donkeys, representing democrats, are wishing that Clinton had qualities that were specific to Sanders. If they knew that Sanders was watching them from the poster behind them, they wouldn’t be complaining. I think this cartoon is effective for a few reasons. Firstly, Clinton lost to Trump, this means the DNC’s evil paid off to nothing. Also, the leak showing that the DNC rigged its primaries hurt their nominee. Few people want to vote for someone who they felt was “cheating” in their campaign. Lastly, the cartoon emphasizes how Bernie’s advantages mirrored those of Trump, and how the DNC ignored the general anti-government feelings swelling in American voters.