Mexican immigration- 1p124 Meeting Point TL

1 p.124

1) These cartoons emphasize the need and dependency Americans have for low wage immigrant workers.

In the first cartoon, this situation is clearly showed in a metaphorical way: a huge arm, representing the American authority, passes through the barrier existing between the US and Mexico, as if it’s inviting the little Mexican man characterized by the classic sombrero. Furthermore, the sizes of the two characters accentuate the power of the USA and their domination on Mexico.

The second image is more explicit. Indeed, we can see a stereotypical Mexican with a pitchfork and an American woman who represents US consumers. He says to her that she can’t live without him, which highlights the fact that these Mexican workers fulfill jobs that most Americans would not think of doing, especially for the very low wages that these workers receive. The American economy has become dependent on these workers.

Although the goal of these cartoons is the same, we can notice some differences: the first one shows a Mexican guy before his immigration in the US, while the second one shows a Mexican guy who is already there and employed. Also, in the first one America’s attitude toward the immigrant is welcoming and even encouraging; whereas in the second one the woman looks wary and her leaning away from the man shows she is really uncomfortable.

2) The cartoon below is a parody of a painting called American Gothic by Grant Wood.The similarity that we can observe is of course that the structure of the revamp is built on the original one: both women are blonde and dressed in the same way; the men hold a pitchfork, and all of them stand in front of a farm that looks pretty similar in both versions. There are some differences: the graphic style of the two artists and the metamorphosis of the painting in a cartoon, so that the man is no more an American with a stern look but a casual Mexican with a nonchalant attitude; and as for the woman, she no longer looks straight ahead but seems to be confused by the Mexican easiness in her regards.

I believe that the one of the cartoonist’s goals is to point out that, almost a century later (American Gothic goes back to 1930 and its parody was published in 2007), History repeats herself. In fact, we may suppose that the characters of the original painting are immigrants themselves, probably Irish. And the other goal is to reveal the unnecessary fear that Americans, symbolized by the scared woman, feel toward the Mexican immigrants.

3) Obviously, the most critical cartoon of the American attitude is the second one. As I said in the first question, both the position and expression of the woman representing the US reveal her unwillingness to welcome the Mexican immigrants.

In my opinion, the one that best illustrates the Mexican’s situation is the one with the green wall. In fact, it highlights Mexican poverty by the way the guy is dressed (simple white clothes who seem to be a little small for him) but it also shows there is a possible way of make it out by immigrating in America.

Along with the fact that I think the best illustration of Mexican’s situation is the first one, I’d say that it is also the more striking due to the clear and concise message that it communicates.

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