TOW #5 (Cycle 2) - Visual (Same Sex marriage in Iowa)

This political from 2009 was created by Nick Anderson for the Houston Chronicle. He has won a Pulitzer prize for his cartoons and has appeared in over 100 different newspapers and journals. The Houston Chronicle is the largest newspaper in Texas and is not notably liberal or conservative.

The cartoon is an allusion, to the famous art piece, American Gothic. Interesting piece of trivia, While it is being depicted as a couple above, this does not parallel what is actually happening in the scene. The original piece depicts Grant Wood's, the artist, sister and their dentist.

Anderson is presenting a piece of art associated with Iowa adjusted to fit the news he is sharing. The cartoon is almost rewriting history. The legalization of gay marriage will not automatically bring change of mind in the population. By taking a well known cultural reference, Anderson is attempting to change what many may view as "normal'.

Anderson's purpose is to present the news of legalized marriage in a way that helps to alter the audience's state of mind and perhaps forward the legalization of gay marriage in texas. He does this with his parallelism in his allusion. Because the men in the image are together in stature almost how they would be in front of an officiant on their wedding day, it bring a clear connection to marriage. The two are in the image just the man and woman in the original are, which presents the legalization of gay marriage with nothing different except the gender of the two people in union.

Texas did not legalize gay marriage until February of 2014. Anderson may be using this cartoon as a way to convince readers that it is time for Texas to catch up. He presents the news using an ellipsis, signifying an exasperated tone. Anderson is telling his readers, "C'mon, even Iowa is doing it."