Bradley Wells' Group Project Happenings!

Here is my post of what I have done for group project #2 for team Cooper's Troup on same-sex marriage. The first thing we did was we decided that we would all go out and find 2 negative, and 2 positive cartoons for each of us. We would bring these to the first group meeting on October 18th. On October 17th, I spent from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm looking at cartoons and gathering ones that I felt were best represented of our topic. During our group meeting we decided that we were going to do a blog, with a notebook/scrapbook that would have all of our cartoons inside, and coded. We separated our blog in to 4 different topics, Proposition 8, Hot Spots, Religion, and World-Wide. I was assigned the topic of Proposition 8. We decided we would do research on our topics and start putting our blog together so that we could better understand the cartoons, and be better prepared to code them properly. Ami set up the project blog, and after being given admin privileges, I went to work on creating a nice drop down navigation menu, to create an easier method to work ones way throughout the blog. On Tuesday, October 22nd, I spent from 3:00 pm, until 9:00 pm working on the navigation menu, and also starting my research and getting most of my information. I finished the navigation menu after struggling with it for 3 hours. I also had everyone let me know how they would like to name their pages so that I could add them to the blog so they could begin working on their pages and work in earnest. I found some really good sites about Proposition 8 that were very beneficial to me in working on my pages, and also better understanding the cartoons that were being used. On Wednesday, October 23rd, I again spent from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm finding more information on Proposition 8, and also put together a nice intro about what my pages would be covering, and also added a clip from Stephen Colbert to add some humor to the topic. Thursday was a group meeting day. I was able to get my cartoons coded, but since it was taking so long, we decided that we were going to continue adding information and research to the blog and finish coding the cartoons on Monday, October 31st in another group meeting. On Sunday, October 30th, I spent from 9:00 pm until 3:00 am working on my pages some more. I finished the introduction page, and began work on the "What is Proposition 8?" page. Monday we met as a group at 4:00 pm and finished coding everyone's cartoons and talked about the last few adjustments and information we wanted on the page. I went home relaxed for a little while, ate some dinner and sat down to finish my work. I started working on the pages at 9:00 pm, and finished up the "What is Proposition 8?" page. I then began work on the Results/Aftermath and found more really interesting information that fit wonderfully with my pages. I Continued working on the pages until 4:50 am where I was able to complete everything. I have read over everything to be sure it makes sense, and is grammatically correct and with no spelling errors. I have also printed and filled out my Team Member Evaluation form. I will most likely read over my pages again as well as those of my team mates in hopes that we can avoid any silly errors that are easily fixed. I also added my own opinion piece to the project blog, you can find it in the "Our Views" page.

International Comics

From what I can see it looks like this one is from the Dominican Republic I would say it is negative as it gives a bunch of other things that his friend is for. The guy on the left asks, "Diognes are you alright with homosexual marriage" and the guy on the right says "yes" and then goes off on other types of marriages like one to get married to animals, and even one to get married to a panty. If you want a full translation let me know.

coded cartoons

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: The Scranton Times-Tribune Date: 7/19/2011
Cartoonist: John Cole U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Gay marriage rights BW Cartoon#: 95647
What action is taking place in the cartoon? While performing the marriage vows for a gay couple the person doing it says “’til death or crossing the Pennsylvania state line do you part?”


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights?

The reality constructed is that while New York has granted same-sex couples the right to marry, once they leave the state they are not guaranteed those same rights.

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: The Buffalo News Date: 7/22/11
Cartoonist: Adam Zyglis U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Same sex marriage vows Cartoon# 95885
What action is taking place in the cartoon? A man with a NY State briefcase says “I promise to honor and obey you from this point forward,” to Lady Justice


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights? The reality constructed is that New York hadn’t been giving same-sex couples equal justice before they began allowing same-sex marriages.

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: MSNBC.com Date: 7/16/2004
Cartoonist: Daryl Cagle U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Gay matrimonies Cartoon# 6634
What action is taking place in the cartoon? A man is saying to a woman that he wants to marry her, but says he can’t because the “moral foundation of marriages has crumbled” because Massachusetts started to allow gay marriages.


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights? It’s framing that some people are against same-sex marriage because it will destroy the “moral foundation of marriage.”

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: Salt Lake Tribune Date: 8/5/2010
Cartoonist: Pat Bagley U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Gay marriage Cartoon# 81524
What action is taking place in the cartoon? A religious leader is saying that the government shouldn’t tell him and his congregation what to believe but that it should tell a gay couple what to believe


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights? It’s framing that religions are allowed to believe and act as they want, but that many times religion doesn’t want same-sex couples to believe or act as they want

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: Salt Lake Tribune Date: 10/14/2008
Cartoonist: Pat Bagley U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Proposition 8 Cartoon# 56523
What action is taking place in the cartoon? Two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say “weirdos” to each other while looking at a man and a boy holding “no on Prop 8” signs.


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights? This cartoon is constructing that in the same ways people misjudge LDS missionaries as “weird” the LDS people and others judge those against Prop 8, and for same-sex marriage in general as “weird.”

GAY RIGHTS (same sex marriage, gays in military, Prop 8, gay adoption, etc.)
• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet: Attach to cartoon.
Team Member Name: Spencer Wright
Publication: Salt Lake Tribune Date: 11/14/2008
Cartoonist: Pat Bagley U.S./International (circle)
Title of cartoon: Gay mormon Cartoon# 57689
What action is taking place in the cartoon? Religious leaders on top of the Salt Lake Temple are saying “on the other hand, it is nice to face a crowd that isn’t nodding off” while looking down on protesters who want to vote no on prop 8.


Tone of the cartoon:
1) positive or negative framing of sexual minorities (circle answer)
2) framing is supportive or opposed to rights for sexual minorities (Circle answer)
What “reality” is constructed/framed about sexual minorities and their rights? This is framing the people who were against Prop 8 as being unjustly hard done and judged by the LDS church.

My Coding

Here is the comics I coded
http://travispessetto.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/EditorialCartoons.pdf

These are the cartoons i will be using:

If you guys find any international cartoons let me know so that i can use those instead. the only international cartoons i have are from Canada.

I thought I would contribute to the decoding of this image. In the poster in the above image I believe the person depicted is Boyd K. Packer one of the 12 apostles of the Church of Jesus-Christ of later day saints. check the next image to see what you think.
The red and blue come from one of president Obama's campaign poster for hope seen in the next image.

Which could mean that this editorial cartoon is saying that there is hope for gay people if they change the way they think or it implies that gays have a choice if they are gay or not. Which is somewhat true considering that the church's view is that one may have more thoughts about same sex attraction but, does not think you have to act on it and that in essence everyone is heterosexual at their root.

It is also interesting to note that the pose of Elder Packer is similar to that of Uncle Sam's, "I want you" poster, shown below. So, does this mean that he is saying, "I want you to change and there is hope?" Maybe, maybe not. Leave your opinions in the comments.

10/25 Page Set-up

Here's the work that I did on the blog yesterday. Let me know if you think anything needs to be changed, adjusted, fixed or added. Also, if anyone needs help on anything let me know and I'd be glad to assist!

Introduction

Welcome to the Cooper's Troop blog on Gay Marriage -- where all false misconceptions on
the issue will be dissolved and truth will be revealed, through the depiction and analysis of
 editorial cartoons.

Why Gay Marriage?

Our group decided to do our project on gay marriage because it was a topic that we had all heard about but didn't know the facts on. As a topic, it caught our interest because of the heated debate following it in the United States. For this project we decided to take the many different subjects that gay marriage entails (such as: religion and gay marriage, proposition 8, national gay marriage hot spots, and international gay marriage policies), find the facts on these issues, and analyze how each subject is portrayed through editorial cartoons.

Mission Statement

To bring to light the truths about gay marriage and to help viewers better understand
 the tools used by editorial cartoonists in their drawings to represent an opinion.

Important Things to Understand

Before proceeding to the rest of the blog, here's a few things that you should know:

Media Effects Theories

1. Framing: a theory used by the media to present information to viewers in a certain "framed" way in order to effect the audience's way of thinking about a certain issue. Framing includes adding emphasis to certain things, leaving details out, and can be used to develop a person/organization's biased agenda. However, in the case of editorial cartoons, framing is an acceptable tool as it expresses a certain opinion on an issue. Because the frame of the picture is limited, as viewers, we must think about not only the message and opinion being portrayed, but also the context surrounding the issue - What is going on in this situation? Who and what are being portrayed in what particular way? What are the actual facts? Without all the facts, either in a cartoon or a news story, framing can cause biased misconceptions about topics that hinder our ability to think critically about both sides of an issue before making a judgement. This is why understanding framing is so important and vital to our project.

2. Cultivation: the theory that a stable set of images portrayed throughout the media have a long term effect on the way we see the world, because of how media frame an issue. With editorial cartoons, this isn't too much of a problem because there are many different cartoonists, each with their own opinion. However, cultivation could affect a person in that it could result in biased opinion if only cartoons were looked at without any outside context.

Understanding the Basics of Editorial Cartoons

1. Humor: The use of wit, satire and humor to convey meaning in a cartoon should be understood. Almost all cartoons without fail use some sort of humor in their cartoons. Depicted images and words in cartoons, therefore, should not be taken seriously. Rather the viewer should ask why humor is being used and in what way to convey what meaning. This will help unveil what the artist is actually trying to say not only about the issue, but also about people in our society.

2. Fact: While editorial cartoons depict opinion in a comedic manner, they must still be based on fact so as not to present false information. It is these facts that readers must know in order to understand the opinion expressed in the cartoon.

3. Inform: Editorial cartoons must encourage critical thinking and try to inform readers. They are not only for pleasure. In order to fully understand editorial cartoons, the reader must look beyond the comedic content and understand what message the artist is really trying to convey. The underlying message can be revealed by analyzing what type of humor is being used and for what purpose. What meaning lies beyond the humor and why is such humor used? What people/places/things/ are depicted and why are they depicted that way? What is the background for this issue and how is it depicted in the cartoon? If the editorial cartoon does not raise such questions as well as provide factual, informational content with a comical aspect to it, the cartoon is ineffective.

Keep this in mind as you tour the rest of our blog and enjoy!