| Contents . Click to enlarge any cartoons that have an artist's credit. Images are between 400 and 800 pixels wide. |
| Nothing's shocking, nothing's new: Creative stagnancy in popular media
Chris Dreyer
In American popular media, a depressing drought of creativity and originality plagues American films, television, music and print media. Overwhelmingly, the general theme is unoriginality - and this is a terrible thing because it reflects the static quality of our culture and consciousness. |
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Eric Cunningham cartoon
| Turning a blind eye: The media, religion and the culture of avoidance
Chris Sparks
Religion, kept out of the public eye and tucked into homes and places of worship, is not mentioned in public schools and is often scorned by the secularized masses whenever it is made a public affair. As a result, whenever religious issues come up in the media, such as the stories about the rite of exorcism and those who practice it that appeared last year, our society is unable to treat the issue as it is: a serious article of faith and something to be shared, not avoided. |
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Eric Cunningham cartoon
| Electronic communication: Bringing us closer or rending us apart?
Benjamin Ford
When did on-line communication cease to be a simple, recreational pursuit and begin anew as a life-consuming force of insipidity? Ask just about any college student today, and they won't have a clear answer for you, but they will tell you that they "need" to check their email, away messages and Facebook the second they sit down in front of their computer. It is both obsessive and compulsive. |
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Abraham Wenning cartoon
| Risk in anonymous sourcing
Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen
Throughout the years, it has been understood that journalists would report the facts backed by sources or references - not only giving us the facts but where they got them. However, it is not always possible to make sources known to readers. For many reasons, among them personal safety and job security, a source will not agree to speak to a journalist unless anonymity in print can be guaranteed. |
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Eric Cunningham cartoon
| The reality of Reality TV
Meghan Quinn
We no longer have to spy on our neighbors - they are in our living rooms. Secretly, we receive validation from watching the dysfunctional lives of others. Whether it is a celebrity or an "average" person, we can compare our lives and actions and feel confident. From the outside so many look as if they have perfect lives, but everyone has to deal with daily nuisances and major tragedies. |
 | Society's sunken spirits saved by superheroes
Carolyn Brayko
Because many Americans feel, in some sense, like they need to be saved from an ugly reality, they resort to a fictional fantasy... A superhero action film provides temporary relief from the constant barrage of desperate news, thus theoretically improving national morale. |
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Eric Cunningham cartoon
| The real Che Guevara
Maninda Boralessa
What many people believe about Che's acts of social justice, if you will, are debatable. He did attempt to drive out capitalism in South America, one of the main factors leading to the economic situation in the majority of the continent. Yes, Che was a revolutionary. He did orchestrate change, but the way that he attempted to affect those changes and achieve those goals was violent and inhumane. |
