Political Cartoon Analysis Project
By Ashley Johnson and Andrew Denton
National Security Blanket by Herb Block
1973
Losses by Herb Block
The boats depicted are shipping supplies to Japan and Britain. The U.S. wanted to maintain peaceful relations with Japan in order to prevent hostilities. Even though the U.S. and Britain had very close relations, the cartoon explains the situation imbalance where Japan is set as a higher priority than Britain. Exaggeration with the situation of the two boats expresses the relations of the two countries with America. The boats did not actually sink but there were less supplies going to Britain than Japan. The sinking boat as opposed to the one which is intact shows the priorities of Japan's materials to be shipped over Britain.
"Kids these days! Craziness in schools movies, video games-terrible! Here-Try this dandy!" by Herb Block
The cartoon shows a situation where an implied criminal is buying a gun when the cashier is criticizing youth for being violent with technology. During the year of 1933, the Federal Firearms Act was passed in order to deny criminals the ability to sell or use guns. Irony is used in the drawing as the criticized youth do not actually inflict any harm but a gun is being sold to a criminal who intends to cause harm. The intent of the cartoon then, is to express the need for the Federal Firearms Act.