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VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. This week: how cartoons can tell a story or send a
message. Or both.
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VOICE ONE:
The new family movie “Ice Age: The Meltdown” is written for laughs. But some
people might also see it as a serious message about the dangers of climate
warming.
The film brings back the animated animals from the 2002 hit movie
"Ice Age." The main characters are a wooly mammoth named Manny, a sloth named
Sid and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego.
VOICE TWO:
In the first movie, Manny, Sid and Diego faced the dangers of the coming
prehistoric freeze. This time they are threatened by floods from the melting of
the Ice Age.
At first, the animals love the water. Later, when they discover the threat,
they must warn everyone else and find a way to save their valley.
MOVIE SOUND: "It's all part of my 'Accu-weather' forecast. The five-day
outlook is calling for intense flooding followed by ... THE END OF THE WORLD!"
VOICE ONE:
The world of cartooning has changed a lot since the days when Walt Disney
drew his characters by hand. Animated cartoons are especially labor-intensive.
Animators create a sense of movement through a progression of many images. Each
image is a little different than the one before it. Today many animators,
including the ones who made the "Ice Age" movies, get help from computers.
But Walt Disney's work still influences modern cartooning.
He started his company in 1923. He had his first big success five
years later. He combined animation with sound in the 1928 film “Steamboat
Willie.”
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VOICE TWO:"Steamboat Willie" was the first movie to
star Mickey Mouse. Later came other famous Disney characters, including Donald
Duck.
Donald Duck is over seventy years old now, but you could never tell by
looking at him. To animate something means to give it life. Animated characters
can live forever -- or at least as long as they stay popular.
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VOICE ONE:
Another form of cartooning is the comic strip . Comic strips are a drawing or
a series of drawings that present a situation or tell a little story. Comic
strips are usually good for a laugh or at least a smile.
American newspapers commonly publish a page or more of them each day. These
are usually black-and-white drawings. Sunday funnies are often published in
color.
Readers of all ages enjoy the comics in the newspaper.
On television, cartoons used to be thought of as mainly for children. But
times have changed. For example, Cartoon Network says one-third of the people
who watch its programs are over the age of eighteen. So it offers special
late-night programming called "Adult Swim." These cartoons are meant to appeal
to what it calls "a grown-up sense of humor and other adult sensibilities."
One of the shows, "The Boondocks," is based on a newspaper comic strip.
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VOICE TWO:
"The Boondocks" is the story of Huey and Riley, two young African-American
boys. They come from a rough part of Chicago, Illinois. Now they live with their
grandfather in a mainly white community. The characters are known for their
sharp observations about life there, and life in general. Huey speaks his mind
like a revolutionary.
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"The Boondocks" often deals with issues of race and social justice. The strip
is more political than most comic strip readers are used to. Some think it is
great; others think it goes too far.
"The Boondocks"
appears in about 350 newspapers. Aaron McGruder is the cartoonist who created it. In March,
he suspended the strip temporarily. Aaron McGruder plans to take a break until October.
"Every well needs refreshing," he says.
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VOICE ONE:
“Peanuts” is an example of a
more traditional comic strip. Charles Schulz is the artist who created Charlie
Brown and Snoopy the dog and all their friends. Charles Schulz died in 2000.
But the cartoons he drew are still being repeated. The humor is timeless.
Many readers also enjoy comics like “Garfield and Friends." Garfield is a fat
cat who likes thinking of food and making fun of his owner.
And some readers never miss “Dennis the Menace.” This single-drawing
cartoon is about a five-year-old boy. Dennis is always causing trouble for his
parents and a retired neighbor, Mr. Wilson. But to his fans since the
1950s, Dennis is always likeable.
VOICE TWO:
Another form of cartooning is the editorial cartoon. These express the
opinion of the artist or the artist’s publication.
Nineteenth century cartoonist Thomas Nast drew for Harper’s Weekly and the
humor magazine Puck. In his political cartoons he drew an elephant to represent
Republicans and a donkey for Democrats. Today these animals are still used to
represent the two major parties in America.
VOICE ONE:
In the 20th century, cartoonists like Peter Arno, James Thurber and
Charles Addams drew for the New Yorker magazine. The New Yorker has a tradition
of publishing cartoons as social commentary.
Peter Arno liked to make fun of people of wealth and social position and
self-importance. He drew his subjects with heavy lines.
James Thurber's cartoons pointed out human weaknesses. He drew his subjects
with a light touch.
VOICE TWO:
James Thurber also wrote many humor books. He created the character of Walter
Mitty. Walter Mitty is a mild little man who daydreams of doing exciting things.
Cartoonist Charles Addams created the Addams Family. They looked like a scary
family out of a horror movie. But Addams made funny situations from these
strange characters. Somehow his artistry made normal people seem strange.
VOICE ONE:
Today, New Yorker cartoons are still known for their sharp humor. For
example, a lawyer advises a man that the best defense in his situation is to
lie.
New Yorker cartoonists can find humor in almost any situation. A
well-known cartoon that appeared in 1993 was drawn by Peter Steiner. Two
dogs are at a computer. One says to the other, "On the Internet, nobody knows
you're a dog."
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VOICE TWO:
One of America’s most influential political cartoonists worked at the
Washington Post for fifty-five years. His name was Herbert Block. But readers
knew him better as Herblock, the name he used to sign his work.
During the 1950s, Herblock was known for his cartoons against
Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy accused many people of being communists.
Finally, the Senate condemned McCarthy for his actions.
Over the years, Herblock won three Pulitzer prizes and a
Presidential Medal of Freedom. He continued drawing until shortly before his death in
2001, at the age of ninety-one.
VOICE ONE:
Cartoons can make powerful statements about events. In 1963,
President John F. Kennedy was shot. That led cartoonist Bill Mauldin to draw
another president who died that way. He drew the statue of Abraham Lincoln in
Washington. In the cartoon, President Lincoln is crying.
Almost forty years later, in 2001, cartoonists drew the Statue
of Liberty crying in New York Harbor. That was after the September 11th attack
on the nearby World Trade Center.
VOICE TWO:
Cartoons can make people sad. They can also make them angry. Last September a
newspaper in Denmark published cartoons that insulted Muslims. Other newspapers
later republished these cartoons. Protests and deadly riots took place in a
number of countries earlier this year. The cartoons and the reaction led to
international debate about responsibility and freedom of speech.
VOICE ONE:
Cartoons can make us think, they can make us laugh, they can make us cry.
Cartoons can make a difference in how we look at life.
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Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver was our producer. I’m
Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. You can read
and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. And listen again next week for THIS
IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.
comic
strip : 連環(huán)漫畫
