Poker+Game+Visual+Analysis

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=Poker Game With Death= =Artist: Dan Piraro=

In the chosen cartoon image a Grim Reaper, who we can assume represents death, is casually pictured at a friendly game of poker with his guy friends. During the game, a friend of the Grim Reaper says, “Oh, relax. You always think everyone is trying to cheat you.” Which in itself is an ironic statement. The group of men appear to be of older age, at least in their 30’s, and appear to be drinking and laughing about the Grim Reaper’s thoughts of them cheating. I believe the illustrator of the photo directly made ties to the guy’s older age which usually reflects a much busier life filled with stress from jobs, families, and any bad decisions they’ve mad along the way. The guys in the photo are seen with beer bottles and we safely can assume that they most likely smoke cigarettes which both are not the best for your body.

The actual humor of the photo is depicted by portraying a normal game with friends, and a minor conflict within the game. When in reality the darker context of the photo represents the game participants taking the topic of death lightly. The appearance of the Grim Reaper is a skeleton in a black robe, which in itself reminds most people of death because when your dead body decays, you are nothing but bones. The dark robe reminds you of the negative image death portrays in our society. This image is always portrayed in Halloween themed movies, wardrobe, and other modes of entertainment. In the game of poker, you are to keep a poker face, remain emotionless, because you may tip off an opponent and could lose a match which could amount to you losing money.

The facial expression of the Grim Reaper is humorous because in reality, since he represents death, he is upset that they are joking about their likelihood of when they would die. But in the other, more obvious but false context, he is upset that they are cheating him in the game of poker.

The layout of the scene seems to be maybe a basement or a living space in the house where the guys hang out, based on the regular sitting table rather than professional poker table and the lighting and way the guys are dressed. If the guys had been better dressed and the scenery had been nicer and more populated, we could assume they were in a casino. The darker shadows in the top corners of the picture can bring the audience to allude the darkness of the photo to the darkness of the topic of death.

This cartoon reminds me of the photo given in the Godfather Death short story, because the dark figure who looks like a skeleton or rather frail man with a dark robe, also stands to represent death. Both death figures were angry when they thought they were trying to be tricked by a human figure. Though the stories portrayed by both photos are a little different, the imagery is similar.

The illustrator of the poker cartoon was done by a well-known artist named Dan Piraro, which appeals to ethos. Logos is portrayed by the Grim Reaper himself, most people in our society understand that he represents death, by placing him in the photo the illustrator gets his point about the solemnness about death across while also making the audience laugh from the situation. Logos is also portrayed by the game of poker and the conversation going on in the photo. In a realistic game of poker, the seriousness of the game and the conversation among the players is something you would probably really witness within a group of friends. Pathos is represented by the facial expressions by the player and the Grim Reaper, who both express emotion. The player expresses a light-hearted and friendly demeanor, while the reaper expresses a serious attitude. Pathos is also represented by the Grim Reaper representing death itself, which could give a multitude of feelings to the audience depending on their different backgrounds and mindset on the topic of death.

In conclusion, the image could easily be interpreted by your average audience because of the illustrators use of dark humor and the normal looking scene that mostly anyone in any culture could relate to. The humor of the poker game and the pretense that one of the players was cheating is a general idea. Adding in the Grim Reaper to the image, added a new element, death, to the seemingly innocent scene. All in all, the illustrator uses lighting, clothing, and the general nature of the scene to portray his own message about cheating death.

=Citations: =
 * @https://www.pinterest.com/pin/105271710012290952/**
 * Dan** **Piraro**