Jesse Washington, AP, February 20, 2009
{snip}
Editorial cartoonists are bending over backwards a lot these days, as they try to satirize the nation’s first black president. {snip}
The problem is, cartoonists make their living by making fun of people—especially presidents—and exaggerating their features and foibles.
The best political cartoons are “like an X-ray machine,” said Amelia Rauser, an art history professor at Franklin & Marshall College and author of “Caricature Unmasked,” which examines the art form’s historical role in political discourse.
“You have to deform someone facially in order to make a larger point about their character,” Rauser said. “But that deformity reveals their inner truth and makes them look more like themselves.”
{snip}
Drawings of President Barack Obama, however, must contend with America’s history of degrading racial imagery, from ape comparisons to enormous “Sambo” lips. (Caricatures of the president’s admittedly large ears have so far escaped scrutiny.)
Michael Cavna, who blogs about comics for The Washington Post, wrote that “an unnerving number of North America’s political cartoonists are bizarrely obsessed with President Obama’s lips.” He followed with a detailed analysis of several cartoons where Obama’s lips were large, some shade of blue, or both.
{snip}
Scott Statis, editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, said he received several complaints this week that his Obama drawings look “simian.” {snip}
“Being the typical American editorial cartoonist—doughy, white, middle-aged—I’m more than willing to accept that I don’t know what may or may not be offensive,” he said. “But editorial cartoons are supposed to be offensive, and provocative. We’re entering new waters here. What can you use or not use?”
“All my characters look simian,” he said. “I don’t make Obama look nearly as simian as our former governor Mike James, who I DID draw as a monkey, on more than one occasion. And he’s a white guy. . . . I’m sorry, but when it comes to African-Americans, you just don’t draw monkeys.”
{snip}
Perhaps race relations would improve, Lester [Mike Lester of the Rome News Tribune in Georgia] said, if black people lightened up a bit: “They’re not too good (at being) made fun of. We can all take a joke.”
Lester said Rall [Ted Rall, president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists] told him before the election that an Obama presidency would be good for conservative cartoonists, but “it’s been just the opposite. I find myself having to temper my comments. I’m tired of it. (Obama) wants my money, he wants me to pay for my neighbor’s foreclosed house that he can’t afford.
{snip}
“Being an editorial cartoonist is a high-wire act,” Rall said. “If you’re any good, you’re taking lots of chances all the time. When you take chances, you fall and you screw up.”
Original article
(Posted on February 23, 2009)
Comments
Many of the conservative ones don’t have this problem. As for the others, it’s because they’re libs and therefor agree with Obama, and don’t want to make fun with him, combined with that stereotypical black density when one of their own is satirized.
Scott Statis, editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, said he received several complaints this week that his Obama drawings look “simian.”
Who cares? Make the laughs and those of us with humor will laugh. Those who will complain, would complain about anything anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
Most of the cartoons of George Bush made him out to look like something either less than human or like someone who was born with a severe birth deformity. Pretty funny, huh. Now comes along the black massiah, Barak Obama. The left wing cartoonists will treat him like Muhammad by not printing his face and the rest will turn him into a super hero.
“I’m sorry, but when it comes to African-Americans, you just don’t draw monkeys.”
So many things you can’t do when blacks are involved. All the obvious things you can’t say. All the jokes you can’t make. All the tip-toe-ing around & being careful how you word things. What a huge pain in the ass it all is.
Oh, and also: People who demand respect the loudest always deserve it the least.
“Ted Rall, president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists”
Oh, yes. Ted Rall. The white guy who drew the racially inoffensive cartoon of Condi Rice dressed as Butterfly McQueen saying, “I don’t know nuthin’ bout no nuclear warheads.” Charming cartoon! And he’s the president of their little cartoon club, hmm?
My goodness, folks is mighty picky ‘bout usin’ dat race card, ain’t they, Massa Rall! s/o
The media rollover for Bobama and this post-election racial fallout was so predictable. They really elected themselves a teflon man, didn’t they? Disgusting.
Attention all black people: The whole world doesn’t revolve around you and your touchy sensibilities. Your guy won the presidency! Congratulations! When you’re on top, though, you make an excellent target. Bill Clinton learned it; George Bush learned it. And Barack Obama had better learn it.
And our editorial cartoonists should consider all the sacred cows to be located in India — not in the White House. Treat Obama as you have treated all our White presidents — with the gloves OFF.
“Scott Statis, editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, said he received several complaints this week that his Obama drawings look ‘simian.’”
I really did laugh out loud at that!
They never cared about portraying that smirking chimp El Presidente George W., as a monkey with a banana up his nose, so why the big fuss about doing the same with General Secretary BO? Is General Secretary BO not related to him distantly, if I am not mistaken? Also, are they not equals in every way, including their cocky simian of the walk inept arrogance?
What would Darwin say about all this, I wonder?
Probably not something like, ‘God help us all?’
However, I would: God Help Us All!
Scott Statis, editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, said he received several complaints this week that his Obama drawings look “simian.”
One cannot blame a camera if one looks simian.
“Perhaps race relations would improve, Lester [Mike Lester of the Rome News Tribune in Georgia] said, if black people lightened up a bit: “They’re not too good (at being) made fun of. We can all take a joke.”
It’s commenets like this that show how utterly out of touch most people are with the reality of blacks.
Blacks have no intention of lightening up because it’s not about taking a joke. It’s about the political power to crush and destroy anyone and everyone for any real or imagined slight.
Blacks know they have this power and they use it every chance they get. An honest mistake, a jab in jest, or a racial comment are like hitting the jackpot because they have the same outcome; destroying real or precieved foes and some form of payout.
“Being an editorial cartoonist is a high-wire act,” Rall said. “If you’re any good, you’re taking lots of chances all the time. When you take chances, you fall and you screw up.”
That’s what they’re counting on baby. You lose your job and they wallow in smug self-satisfaction.
Rall is a brain-dead Marxist liberal who hates White conservatives with every fiber of his being. He’s built his career mocking and ridiculing White conservatives and playing the game of the radical left. May he suffer the same fate as anyone who sells his soul to the radial left; self-immolation.
I wouldn’t be suprised if blacks were to push for expanding hate laws to including mocking President Obama. After all, we have president on the world stage with the banning of cartoons portraying Muhammad.
Freedom of the press? Make me laugh.
“The problem is, cartoonists make their living by making fun of people—especially presidents—and exaggerating their features and foibles.”
That can’t be done to blacks without a lot of black crying and bellyaching, because most of them are so in love with themselves and arrogant, they simply can’t stand the ridicule, so fragile are their egos.
It makes the situation even more hilarious when you know they have absolutely NOTHING to be arrogant about, until you remember they don’t really need a reason.
“You have to deform someone facially in order to make a larger point about their character,” Rauser said. “But that deformity reveals their inner truth and makes them look more like themselves.”
I think these cartoonists miss their own point.
Obama the Infallible’s face should always be covered by a mask representing his chosen mood with only his ears showing.Add water for him to walk upon plus radiant backlighting and there’s the messiah.
“Scott Statis, editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, said he received several complaints this week that his Obama drawings look “simian.””
OF COURSE his Obama drawings look simian—that’s because most blacks are, in fact, much more simian looking and less evolved than whites. Duh.
Great. Political cartoonists are going to have to walk on some pretty fragile eggshells for the next four years. Or we’re going to have to put up with a LOT of whining!
When BHO was elected I wondered how long it would take for some-one to get in trouble for being satirical with him. As the world now sees not long at all. The NY Post is already going through the normal ritual that all seem to go through. At first they explained and now they have apologized. The next step will be for the grovelling to start along with a pledge for more diversity at the paper. The final phase will be the firing of this guy Delonas along with an editor. They probably won’t last much past March 5th. Cowardice knows no bounds. Prime examples of this formula Lott,Imus,and Watson. God help us all, this is what we have wrought.
I’d like to see a cartoon of Obama speaking to Osama, perhaps surrounded by cops and/ or soldiers, saying : “Remember, if things get ugly, I’m with you!”
Good bunch of comments here. The main point is that we are entering an era (or have) where everyone takes themselves way too seriously. From Rap artists - gang posturing to backward Muslims right to the far right Christian, the fun and humor - and intellectual freedom of living in the West is being stamped out through over-diversification and fanaticism of all sorts, left and right.
The entire world seems to be painting itself into a corner.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
http://tinyurl.com/dlpmnk
But of course we can’t talk out of turn, when in comes to ‘the one’.
I call myself and my children monkeys all the time (in jest).
To depict Obama as anything but saintly is, unfortunately, racist.
This story is so sad and so predictable. It is not just cartoonist; Obama will be treated with kiddie gloves by journalists during his entire term in office. By the way, has anyone else noticed that the media keeps reporting on Obama’s unusually high approval rating? I usually believe polls but I cannot believe that 68% of Americans approve of Obama. Last week, Rasmussen reported that only 37% of Americans supported the stimulus bill - now the media is reporting that the stimulus plan is supported by 2/3 of Americans. Something fishy is going on.
You have to conclude that the reason they say that BObama can’t be made to look simian is because it is just too close to the truth!
It’s kind of like the way you can’t make fun of a crippled person .
The recent cartoon depicting the chimp that was shot by police in Connecticut was a reference to the old saying that you could put a chimp in front of a type writer and the chimp would eventually pound out something intelligible. I’m paraphrasing that but the point is the same. One of the police officers said after the chimp was shot that they would have to get someone else to write the next stimulous bill. Note that the caption did not say that ‘he’ would have to get someone else to write it. The caption said ‘they’ would have to get someone else. They is plural. That’s more than one. So the question is, who are ‘they’. Not Obama obviously. That would be ‘he’ and not ‘they’. The reference is to ‘they’ - congress - implying that congress had used a chimp to write the bill.
This cartoon would be the same regardless of who was president. But you saw the furor because of a chimp being used in the cartoon. Its a stretch to assume that the chimp was supposed to be Obama. Yet you saw the outrage. Its as if blacks are simply looking for things to be outraged about.
- Real
“Being the typical American editorial cartoonist—doughy, white, middle-aged…
Apparently it’s off-limits to make fun of The Big Chief, but insulting White people in the most offensive way is still acceptable.
Does anyone remember bushorchimp.com ? It was pretty popular at the beginning of Bush’s first term.
“Blacks have this power and they use it every chance they get…”-sbuffalonative
Rasmussen reported that only 37% of Americans supported the stimulus bill - now the media is reporting that the stimulus plan is supported by 2/3 of Americans. Something fishy is going on.
FOX News isn’t saying this, their statistics of approval are very much lower.
If I was a cartoonist, I would totally lampoon the entire issue by drawing Obama as a white man in a suit straight out of the 1950’s. I would just put an Obama name tag on him. For the next four years, that would be my image of him.
Obama has a face that is perfect for a cartoon sketch, his features stand out like a sore thumb. I have to laugh when I hear or read claims from gushing women about how “handsome” he is. He’s not ugly, but he is far from good-looking. When did the public perception of what constitutes “handsome” become so skewed?
Apparently Blacks and Hispanics have a real problem with one of our country’s most precious gifts from our founding fathers. Freedom of speech. It seems like it only applies when and if it does not offend them. “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost”…Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 28th 1786.
I have a solution:
Draw Obama as a warthog (native to Africa) or a cockroach (found in virtually every Bantu home in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas).
End of controversy.
If I have this correctly… Political cartoonists are conservative racists with a long history of being insensitive to progressive causes? and now they need to be held accountable at long last?
Thank God for the Obama ushering in a return to sanity! (sarcasm).
Both the Left and the Right considered George Bush a chimp.
How many times have I seen George Bush depicted as a chimpanzee-like character
Yes blacks are not good at being made fun of.
But they are great of making fun of others.
Thomas Jefferson owned some 600 people.
http://www.monticello.org/plantation/lives.html
