Comments on: Garry Trudeau on the state of satire http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/07/15/garry-trudeau-on-the-state-of-satire/ The source for industry news for the professional cartoonist Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:54:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Bob Cantwell http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/07/15/garry-trudeau-on-the-state-of-satire/#comment-76992 Bob Cantwell Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:25:52 +0000 http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/07/15/garry-trudeau-on-the-state-of-satire/#comment-76992 While Gary Trudeau is emphasizing John McCain's Wall Street connections he is totally ignoring Barak Obama's connections to the most notorious corrupt government orgranization. The Daley machine! I understand questioning political connections, and I understand that cartoonists don't have to be balanced and fair, but this Daley connection is ripe with comic opportunities. It is a shame to leave it alone. While Gary Trudeau is emphasizing John McCain’s Wall Street connections he is totally ignoring Barak Obama’s connections to the most notorious corrupt government orgranization. The Daley machine! I understand questioning political connections, and I understand that cartoonists don’t have to be balanced and fair, but this Daley connection is ripe with comic opportunities.
It is a shame to leave it alone.

]]> By: Malc McGookin http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/07/15/garry-trudeau-on-the-state-of-satire/#comment-75321 Malc McGookin Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:50:46 +0000 http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/07/15/garry-trudeau-on-the-state-of-satire/#comment-75321 Trudeau's opinion of satire as an ineffective weapon (if ousting the sitting government is your aim) is borne out by the evidence. Spitting Image, the puppet satire programme which lambasted Margaret Thatcher's Conservative governments during the 80s oversaw her three consecutive election victories, followed by two victories with her Conservative successor at the helm. Spitting Image was genuinely funny, and the puppets were skilfully made. It was unbelievably expensive to make, and undeniably successful, yet it had no effect on the Conservative juggernaut which brought the UK single handedly to its knees with a thousand businesses going to the wall per week. The programme didn't only concentrate on the evils of Thatcherism, however, it threw punches in all directions, and succeeded in giving the impression that no-one had any solutions and that every politician was an idiot. Newspaper cartoon satire could be incredibly effective and could indeed unseat a clown puppet like Bush, but it cannot succeed without editors who will publish it. There's the problem. Satire itself is a sharp blade, but if it cannot be unsheathed, you might as well wield a stick of celery. Trudeau’s opinion of satire as an ineffective weapon (if ousting the sitting government is your aim) is borne out by the evidence.

Spitting Image, the puppet satire programme which lambasted Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative governments during the 80s oversaw her three consecutive election victories, followed by two victories with her Conservative successor at the helm.

Spitting Image was genuinely funny, and the puppets were skilfully made. It was unbelievably expensive to make, and undeniably successful, yet it had no effect on the Conservative juggernaut which brought the UK single handedly to its knees with a thousand businesses going to the wall per week.
The programme didn’t only concentrate on the evils of Thatcherism, however, it threw punches in all directions, and succeeded in giving the impression that no-one had any solutions and that every politician was an idiot.
Newspaper cartoon satire could be incredibly effective and could indeed unseat a clown puppet like Bush, but it cannot succeed without editors who will publish it. There’s the problem.
Satire itself is a sharp blade, but if it cannot be unsheathed, you might as well wield a stick of celery.

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