Visual analysis of Wanted: Immigration Labor

The cartoon that we are going to analyze was drawn by the famous
cartoonist Khalil Bendib and published on May 8th of 2007. The analysis will
examine the cartoons properties and the function of each one. Since the
cartoon is addressing immigration, it can be considered a political cartoon. The
analysis is also going to argue and talk over the different ways in which the

cartoon persuades the views, such as the Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Purpose of the image and its message

The author that drew this cartoon uses it to demonstrate and also to
make a remark of how some Americans display a double-standard when it
comes to the problem about the immigration workers that not only help the

community, but also that some people claim that take away their jobs. The
cartoon sends a message telling that business, though they might be greedy
and perhaps have insidious purposes, need the immigrant or undocumented
workers to continue increasing business, profits, and overall success of the
country
Audience characteristics
First of all, we have to clarify that this cartoon is not only a cartoon, it is
a political one since is addressing a political topic. So, this cartoon is targeted
for the people that can understand most of the things that are prevalent in
political cartoons, such as: exaggerations, symbols, labels, analogies and irony.
The audience that is capable to understand and detect these things is the
audience which this political cartoon is directed to. This audience can be
divided into different categories: the ones that 1) have knowledge of politics
and current events, 2) are primarily middle class with college degree or college
education, 3) are interested in the immigration topic, and 4) agree with the
point of view of the cartoonist.
Logos
The cartoonist is asking the viewer to see how a different sign with the
exact same image can totally change the way that people see it. In the left
side, the viewer can see a man putting a wanted sign on the wall with Big
Biz written on his back. But on the right side, you can see a different man
putting exactly the same photo of a person working but with a different
wanted sign. We can infer that the man on the right is a sheriff judging by his
police star on his chest and gun.

Ethos
The author of this cartoon is Khalil Bendib, a CA-based award-winning
cartoonist who has published in many small, mid-sized and large newspapers
all over the United States. Some of the large newspapers in which his cartoons
have been are USA Today, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the
San Francisco Chronicle. He also has published in The Black Commentator and
various other online publications. Bendib brings a fresh, non-Eurocentric
perspective and a unique voice that is not usually found in large media
corporations, which had censored, avoided and blacked out these types of
cartoonists.
Pathos
The cartoon may cause different effects depending on who is watching it.
A person that is not concerned about the situation might feel a little confused.
Or they may feel upset because of the commentary that the cartoonist is
making about the immigration in the United States, saying that the United
States government is hypocritical with certain situations regarding immigrants.
On the other hand, an immigrant that works hard in order to achieve enough
money to eat or to feed his family, might feel in full accordance with the
cartoon, stating that the government should view immigrants as a dispensable
part in the United States economy, and that they deserve better treatment
and more opportunities.
Strategy

As we know, most of the political cartoons are controversial because

they talk about situations where people do not usually agree all together. In the
political cartoon, the man on the right with ICE wrote in his back represents
the police, in this case, the immigration and Customs Enforcement department
of the Homeland security which deals with homeland security and public safety
crimes related to commerce, goods, and people coming in and out of the
United States. This department asks for anyone to turn in an illegal immigrant
worker for immediate deportation. In the other side, we have a man with
Big Biz written on his back. Big Biz is a big media corporation, making the
man on the left the representation of the big business, corporations and
business entrepreneurs that are seeking help from those who are willing to
provide disposable labor. This type of big business considers immigrants as
the back of the economy in United States thanks to their cheap hand of labor.
Sources:
http://breakingborders2010.blogspot.com/2010/10/wanted-immigrantlabor.html
http://www.viz-law.com/blog/
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/homeland_security_investig
ators_in_central_new_york_what_is_ice.html
http://edmundozaragoza.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-1-political-cartoonimmigration.html
http://www.bendib.com/book/biography.html