Ideas:

* Class segregation * Increase in gap between rich and poor * People are materialistic more than they are humane * Capitalism’s negative impact on society

Conventions:

* Colour * Clothing
People’s Expressions * Symbolism * Layout * Medium Shot

Resource Link:

http://rwer.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/the-pernicious-impact-of-the-widening-wealth-gap/#more-14874

Visual texts have the power to convey strong messages while still being able to do so in a light hearted manner, keeping us the viewers informed but entertained. The untitled image published in a word press blog on the 21st January 2014 in an article written on the widening of the income gap, discusses segregation of class, widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as giving a negative impression on the capitalistic system through the use of colour, characterisation, symbolism, layout and positioning of the characters and objects.

Class segregation

One major idea that is presented in the image is that of the class separation between the rich and the poor, and this is specifically done through the clothing of the characters portrayed in the cartoon. The man carrying away all the cash in the wheelbarrow is dressed up in a smart jacket, hat and shoes, whilst the group of people stuck at the edge of the platform all have clothing that look similar to each other. This in effect is an entertaining yet informative approach to identifying the separation of the working class of people in society from the uncommon, millionaires and massive money earners in our world, by differentiating them according to the clothes they wear and attributing the entire working class to be similar due to their office uniform like attire. Further emphasis on this idea can be based on the difference in the hats between the rich man, a slick top hat which was frequently associated with the upper-class, the symbol of capitalism, and reflects upon how the system is unfair, creating rift in between the classes, as it allows certain people to amass massive wealth while leaving the average Joe’s (represented by the baseball cap on one of the man’s head) of society with not as much. By representing this issue through a cartoon layout with humorous clothing it manages to get this message across in a light hearted way yet carrying the powerful message through.

Increase in gap between rich and poor

The capitalistic system is based on profits and allows private owners to maximise money made, however this distribution of money isn’t equal within the society allowing one person to be extremely rich while leaving the rest of society under a lower money cap. This profit oriented system is highlighted in the cartoon image, the gap between the rich and poor demonstrated through the physical space between the man who symbolises the upper class of the system, and the working class, represented by the group of people stuck on the platform who symbolise the working class of society. The cliff itself could symbolise the level at which everyone is to be to in order to achieve social and financial harmony, however the position of the people, even though they are all on the same level with the cliff, there is a juxtaposition with the comfort and security of both types people. The rich man is safely on the cliff, contrasted the majority of people hanging on the edge of the platform which symbolises their volatility and lack of power, they are under the power of the rich man, and with him walking away we can see in the image that the beam is being unbalanced, commenting on the idea that in modern day capitalistic society the rich people are the ones with the most control and power over rest of society. The image represents the possibility of a social crisis due to the income being distributed unfairly within society, the multitude of people on the beam all working to gain one thing whilst another rich man carries away all the money with him. The unbalanced beam giving us a the impression that the levels are going to further spread apart as time goes, as the rich people are going to get richer and the poor and just going to get poorer; this idea being represented by the people hanging of cliff, only supported by the foot of the rich man who is walking away. The black colour at the bottom of the image represents the social crisis that the people are possibly going to fall into unless the income distribution (which is symbolised by the cliff) in society is balanced and equally spread out with everyone.

Capitalism vs. Communism

Another reading of the image can be capitalism vs. communism on the effect of society. The image portrays a negative idea about capitalism promoting unfair income spread through the humorous imagery of the rich man walking away with all of the money in a wheelbarrow, leaving behind the rest of the working class people without anything at the edge of a cliff. The image promotes the idea of the rich being powerful over society through the use of the characterisation of the rich man, his foot being the only thing holding up the entire working class from falling into the abyss of social chaos and inequality. Capitalism is being portrayed here as being unfair towards society in general and giving us the impressions that not everyone gets their fair share in the system controlled by the high class and powerful. This could be contrasted to a true communism system where everyone in the system gains equal share in everything, therefore bringing down the gap between the rich and poor, and bringing down the wealthy to that of a commoner as the income would be spread equally amongst the system. Another negative proposition that the cartoon portrays about the capitalistic society is that not only one person falls, if one the rich keep getting richer the entire working class suffers and we see this through the interwoven positioning of all the people stuck on the platform, which adds an entertaining comedic relief to the cartoon due to the peoples expressions, the lack of gaps between the people give a sense of being stuck and lack of mobility in the system, an impression that these people are under the control of the higher ups.

Conclusion

Through the use of symbolism, colour, the characterisation and expressions of the cartoon characters in the image, the visual text conveys the main ideas of a separated class due to the widening income gap, as well as giving a negative impression on the pro- private ownership system of capitalism, its unfairness towards society in general and that without control it could lead to a potential social chaos. The image through its conventions expresses the perspective of capitalism and allows us to compare it to a more equal system of society such as communism allowing the viewer to comprehend the world we are living in through cartoony characters and a comic approach, keeping us, the viewers entertained yet informed on the current issue of the widening gap between the rich and the poor.