CSotD: Disarming commentary
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Clay Bennett with yet another example of excellent draftsmanship combined with the right concept. It's not a terribly common combination.
It's frustrating to see good art wasted in the service of a so-what concept, or, worse, one that can't quite be made out. But it's also a shame when a really good idea is only half-realized because of the lack of depth in the rendering.
And that's not a matter of realism. Tom Toles does odd balloony looking characters, but he's capable of injecting them with some nuance. There are other cartoonists who do great, representational caricatures, but somehow can't bring them to life.
Bennett's best move is the befuddled stare, and, with the Black Knight under a helm and Justice blindfolded, he's deprived of it in this cartoon. And yet you can project the lunatic face of the irate knight, while Justice remains impassive (and armed with a sword by tradition, a lovely advantage for Bennett).
But mostly, he captures the insanity of the original scene and applies it to the case at hand. I don't think he needed to label Arizona's sword, but the law was a weapon and the ruling makes it useless. Fair enough, and, in any case, the label is unobtrusive and, a year from now, will be handy for anyone looking back at past cartoons.
The tie-in between "None Shall Pass!" and immigration in general is apt, but the best part is that the court really did strike off (down) three of four elements of the Arizona Law, and, while it didn't quite leave them "without a leg to stand on," the futility of Arizona's position is as ridiculous as the Black Knight's — and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's defiant declaration of victory is equally absurd.
Or, actually, more absurd: The Black Knight only wanted to call it a tie.
As King Arthur said unto him: "You're a looney."
Moreover, the leg Arizona was left to stand on seems doomed to be sliced off in the next encounter, just as in the movie, since the justices warned against discrimination in how Arizona authorities choose whose citizenship is to be questioned. Legal immigrants aside, there are places in the Southwest where English is a second language even for natives, who retain a distinct Spanish accent when they use it.
This would be a bad time to continue the familiar pattern of disparity in who gets hassled. The whole world is watching.
Finally, it is to be admired that Bennett chose a symbol that is known to people under 50. Cartoonists should, when they come up with a clever cultural reference, pause to ask themselves how many readers are going to get it.
It's fair to demand a certain level of cultural literacy from your audience, but "cultural literacy" is not the same thing as "having grown up when I did." Riffing on a movie from the early 1960s is likely a poor choice if you're trying to address anyone who doesn't carry an AARP card.
I was about to recommend that cartoonists worry less about whether their editors get a cartoon and, instead, run it past some of the younger reporters in the newsroom, but then I realized my references are equally out of date: Too few editorial cartoonists are still working at newspapers these days.
Well, take it down to the coffeeshop. This one would have evoked laughter and applause down there.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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