Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Chapatte cartoon, herald tribune


We can assume that this humorous cartoon was drawn in May by Chapatte, after the Cannes festival.

It deals with the notion of progress, and more precisely with the technological evolution. Furthermore, it tackles the issue of illegal downloading. Indeed, these are both highly-debated issues.

At first sight in the foreground we can notice a couple of celebrities who is signing an autograph to a fan on the Cannes festival red carpet. The man of the couple, who could be a director, seems to lose his temper, however the fan, who wears a tee-shirt with a "@", is delighted. By means of a speech bubble, we learn that the fan had downloaded all of the director's movies. In the distance we can make out the entrance of the festival. The crowd which is screaming and photographing is also illustrated in the background.

The cartoonist clearly denounces the behaviour of some webusers. He represents them through the fan. In fact the cartoon suggests that people pirate private things on the web without any scruples.
The message put accross by the illustrator could be that the technologic progress goes too far. It can also be a criticism of those who use it without having any respect for the others and their achievements. However some people don't even know that downloading films or music is something bad, as we can imagine thanks to the expression of the fan.

To my mind this document conveys a sense of humour, given that there is a kind of compliciy between the illustrator and the reader. Actually it shows a reality that everybody does and that everybody hides. It is a bit provocative as all of us may feel concerned. This is clever enough to amuse readers, and also to make us become aware of the fact that this behaviour is excessive, but I wonder if a cartoon could really change people's minds. I completely agree with the cartoonist and as far as I am concerned I find that it is a very inventive way to show something delicate. We can easily notice the lack of comprehension between the two men at watching the cartoon, and this disagreement is for me a crucial problem in the world .

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