Visual Analysis of the "Brain Chain" Cartoon Image

Introduction

The cartoon shows a black boy held back by a chain tied to a metallic ball written the words "POVERTY." A ring-shaped metallic cover surrounds his head which also includes his eyes. The artist who drew this wanted to show that the notion of poverty is a mental mindset. The boy in the cartoon image is trying as much as possible to walk forwards, but he is held back by poor background. From the perspective of society, the caricature is a satirical take on common stereotypes in society surrounding poverty and possibly race.

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The cartoon represents socio-economic inequalities in the society, with specific emphasis on the stereotypes placed on the poor and the minorities (blacks) in the United States. The community is made up of people from different classes. The main types of socio-economic classes are the lower level (poor), middle class and upper class (the rich). The little boy in the image is a representation of the poor or lower class category. The cartoon can be potentially scandalous. Is the artist trying to show that their background hampers black people? Indeed, the illustration invokes questions; on deep sociological issues. There must be a message in the whole cartoon image. The boy is wearing sports shoes. His trousers a little too short for him; maybe he has outgrown them which means they are an old pair. His fists are clenched, and his left leg is raised in the middle of making a step. The clenched fists and the lifted leg shows that the boy is making an effort to escape his economic class.

The black, dense-looking ball with the words poverty written in white on them is symbolic to the society or economic background. In this case, the possibly one-ton heavy ball is metaphorical for the poor in the community. The equally heavy looking chain is wrapped around the boy's head. The chain is the link between the culture and the boy. The boy represents a person born in the economically disadvantaged in society. The chain could be family relations, the dark history of the people, the availability (or lack thereof) of social amenities, opportunities and resources, social crimes, negativity among people and so on. At the end of the chain, a ring-shaped cover is around the boy's head and eyes so he cannot see what is ahead of him and cannot move forward at the same time. The ball, chain and cover all perform the same symbolic function in the cartoon; they show that in poor societies, there is a cultural notion that a person born poor cannot change his or her status, for example, become rich. The cover is over the boy's head. For an observer, it looks easy enough for the boy to remove the covering over his head and detach from poverty and stereotypes emphasized by the society he was born. However, that is not the case.

Another visual component in the cartoon image is the clenched fists. The clenched fists show effort. The efforts demonstrated by clenched fists are of a physical nature. The problem comes with the heaviness of the burden placed by poverty and the notions in society discussed above. No amount of physical effort can exceed the weight by the impoverished economic background and the links holding the boy who represents people born in poverty. The physical aspects of the cartoon image (heavy ball, heavy chain, clenched fists, one foot raised in mid-step) show the kind of jobs that poor people perform in the society.

If the boy realizes that it is easier to remove the cover over his head and eyes, then he will find it easier to see where he is going (his future) and to be free to decide what he wants to pursue in life. The third visual image is the black skin of the boy which is a political issue. The boy is born in black society. The racial implication is that black people are their deterrents to progress in society. What is implied and not there to see is that white people even if they are disadvantaged, the community and family encourages their dreams rather than hold them back. Regarding poverty, this boy's society is the enemy of individual progress.

Conclusion

In American society, like many other societies, poor people perform menial tasks which other economic classes consider beneath them. Poor people societies discourage personal endeavor. The young black boy represents both promise in his efforts and the ease at which society shapes him with stereotypes, for example, he cannot see his future. Poverty forces poor people to do menial, physically burdensome jobs such as construction works, mining, cleaning, and garbage collecting. The sports shoes represent stereotypes that the community expects from the boy; to play sports. In America, black people are stereotyped; they are supposed to be good or at least reputable in a sport or two. However, no matter the many visual pictures in the cartoon showing the physical demands of being born poor, the truth is that these demands are just mental blocks. If poor black people, change their mindset then they can escape poverty.