Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at political campaigns.
They’re baaaack! Political ads fill the airwaves, pop up on social media, and invade our homes. Our only defense: cartoons that deflate pompous politicians, expose their hypocrisy, and reveal their lust for power.
The cartoons that follow are not strictly political, commenting on a particular politician or policy. Rather, we consider how cartoonists view the absurdity known as the political campaign.
To sell the politician to the public, campaigns need a snappy slogan. Peter Steiner’s cynicism shines through with a captionless cartoon that addresses what’s missing in most empty slogans: candor. Incidentally, when naming a character, it seems cartoonists choose either a common name (here, Wilson) or a wholly improbable name (Joe Shlabotnik was Charlie Brown’s favorite ballplayer). Either approach avoids unintentionally offending a person with that name.
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Insincerity is another hallmark of the campaigning politician. Unless you live in North or South Dakota or know someone who does, you’re not likely to just drop by. J.B. Handelsman’s geographically challenged politician doesn’t let a gaffe get in the way of his stump speech. Perhaps he should have used the collective “the Dakotas.” Notably, this pol’s name is neither common nor improbable; it’s obscured—a cartoonist’s trick to avoid the name issue altogether.
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After greeting the assembled masses, the candidate must get down to business. Paul Noth imagines a politician as an angry clown. The contrast between the powerful message and the ridiculous messenger drives this cartoon. While not naming names, the cartoonist, one suspects, was inspired by our current leadership.
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Paul Noth also treats us to another type of politician: the populist fool. The cartoon targets climate change and its deniers, but the anti-science strain that runs through American public thought gives rise to dangerous political views has implications beyond that pressing issue. (One could substitute “hydroxychloroquine” for “coal.”) The caption builds brilliantly, from modest disclaimer to acknowledgment of ignorance, to the flat-out absurd. Yet, the giant American flag behind the speaker makes him seem credible, no?
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Behind the scenes of any campaign are the staffers who must cultivate a politician’s image and protect it. William Haefeli, known for seamlessly including gay characters in his cartoons, addresses what happens when family values conflict with a sex scandal. The point is driven home forcefully with the campaign posters in the background. The delicate phrase “courting the gay vote” is inspired.
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Just because politicians are easy targets doesn’t mean that producing great cartoons featuring them is a simple task. While cartoons often rely on stereotypes, the best cartoons treat their subjects from a fresh and surprising angle. Bob Mankoff has created a cartoon mashup needing no caption by combining two worlds that have nothing in common—religious art and political campaigning.
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How did we get to this point? History provides the answer in this cartoon by Joseph Farris. Our Founding Fathers may have been naive to think that public service would not be equated with public enrichment. (Sigh.)
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Other cartoons focus not on the candidate but on the voter. This cartoon by Leo Cullum, set in one of his favorite cartoon locales, turns on a seeming contradiction. Maybe “undecided” is another way of saying “disgusted with both candidates.”
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The psychologist’s office is an overused setup for cartoons, but adding a political angle is a fresh take in this cartoon by the co-author of Anatomy of a Cartoon, Phil Witte. It’s a humorous explanation of a baffling phenomenon.
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For a devastating indictment of the body politic, look no further than this cartoon, once again by Paul Noth. The politician as wolf boldly proclaims that he intends to cause harm, while the stupid sheep support him like, well, sheep. Notably, most sheep are oblivious, even though the sign is planted right in their field. Talk about voting against one’s interests! Come November, we’ll know if that’s a winning strategy.
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