Cartoons have always been a medium that I’ve enjoyed. Whether I’m reading the Sunday morning cartoons in the paper, or a sharp editorial cartoon, it’s amazing how much can be said with just a couple panels of artwork. In some cases, only one picture is needed to get the point across. With the events in Libya serving as a backdrop, I recently read a fascinating article about cartoons that I think offers an interesting spin on the events from a unique point of view.
The gist of the article was this: as Moammar Gadhafi’s actions become increasingly more violent, it gets harder for cartoonists to depict him in an appropriate light. 10 years ago, Gadhafi was viewed as a clown, and could be characterized as such. His silly wardrobe and borderline insanity made it easy for cartoonists to poke fun at him. As the atrocities he’s committing against his own people come to light, though, these types of cartoons are no longer funny.
To deal with Gadhafi’s new persona, cartoonists have started drawing him a lot differently. The article showed some examples where he is not portrayed as a clown, but rather as an oblivious despot, which is what he actually seems to be. Each artist does this in a different way and in a different style, but I found the article fascinating. It highlighted something that I’d never given much thought to, which is the way in which cartoons can reflect shifts of opinion about global events.
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