This year, The Economist published an article
featuring a political cartoon on the topic of United States oil industry.
Famous for their articles dealing with domestic and international affairs, the
magazine used this image to highlight their main expose about America’s waning
reliance on Oil form the Middle East and the implications this competition has
on the future economy and political tensions.
As shown, the cover shows two men, standing back to
back with one another. Within their hand is an oil dispenser- held almost as if
a weapon. With narrowed eyes and cold expressions, the positioning of men is analogy
gunfights one would see in a Wild West movie. The author clearly wanted to
emulate on of these duels as a way to express to his audience how the battle
for dominance within the energy field will cause strife and the hostile nature
of the countries relations.
In addition, each man appears to follow broad generalizations of the
country they are from. The Sheikh is drawn to be a stereotypical Arab, with
the traditional thoub and beard. He most likely works in the oil industry
considering the title of the piece as well as the fact most sheikhs are involved
the oil industry. The American, on the other hand, is wearing what appears to
be a uniform with the patch that says, "Keep On Fracking." This patch
indicates that, unlike the Arab, the American is working in the field of
natural gas- a growing alternative source of energy. By drawing these men back
to back also allows the audience to compare the two, and see how both of them
are extremely different except for the fact they both look irritated. This juxtaposition
shows how the nations share completely different cultures, and with the fact
they both are championing a different energy source, implies how different their
ideal goals are.
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