- Colm Regan
Political cartoons often offer visceral and critical opportunities to question ideas, arguments and what we see in the world around us.
Here is a cartoon by editorial cartoonist with the Irish Times, Martyn Turner, on the topic of Covid-19 vaccines and ‘investments’ by the G7 countries (an inter-governmental political forum from some of the world’s leading industrial nations consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States).
How would you ‘read’ the symbols, illustrations and text in this cartoon? What is the cartoonist saying about the world and political messages?
What do you see?
Explore this interactive feature by clicking on the hotspots below.
What is the G7?
Is this a fair depiction of G7 priorities?
Why compare arms spend with vaccine spend?
Are the proportions (2.5 vs 18.5) 'right'? does it matter?
What about Billions vs Trillions?
Where can I get the real figures?
Why more on arms than health?
What does the cartoon say about Martyn Turner's view of the world?
- For more, explore 11 political cartoons on Covid-19, vaccine inequality, the arms trade and climate change and 6 starter activities on using cartoons in education as part of the Martyn Turner series marking the contribution of one of Ireland’s most distinctive journalists and political cartoonists.
- Join us for a Meet the Cartoonist Q&A with Martyn Turner on 14th December 2021. [event session will be posted online in early 2022]
- For more ideas on using cartoons in education, see the exploring cartoons and animations section.
- Note – this cartoon was originally published on the Irish Times on June 12th 2021. Republished with permission, and thanks, to Martyn Turner.
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