Political Cartoons 2023: We're Fine!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Political Cartoons 2023: We're Fine!

Vib Rib: Jul 23, 2007; God damn this shit is
fuckin' re-dic-a-liss
🍖🍖😛🍖🍖

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Cry harder about Biden, you stupid Limeys.

I'm fuckin floored at how quickly every conservative british rag rolled out 100+ year old Irish racism the second they had the opportunity. Not surprised, but still stunned. The hate never went away.

Apple Pie Hubbub posted:

6

Poor plucky little Walmart, just trying to stay afloat.

Vib Rib fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Apr 15, 2023

# ? Apr 15, 2023 07:37

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 26, 2024 00:15

Twelve by Pies: May 4, 2012; Again a very likpatous story

Apple Pie Hubbub posted:

8

Okay I'm going to admit I'm dumb. I know this is a reference to those old WW2 posters but other than that what is this about? Is this just a generic "Woo go Ukraine" cartoon or what?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 09:57

Trapezium Dave: Oct 22, 2012

Twelve by Pies posted:

Okay I'm going to admit I'm dumb. I know this is a reference to those old WW2 posters but other than that what is this about? Is this just a generic "Woo go Ukraine" cartoon or what?

I'm assuming if it's the Salt Lake Tribune it's floods in Utah.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 10:07

1: Feb 28, 2007; 1️⃣
Just another number.

Vib Rib posted:

Poor plucky little Walmart, just trying to stay afloat.

Well obviously they're struggling financially - have you seen how little they can afford to pay their workers?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 10:35

JamesBont: Oct 1, 2021

Apple Pie Hubbub posted:

2

This is peak PC.

Kellies Nomination: Laziest Non-Gorrell

# ? Apr 15, 2023 11:38

escapegoat: Aug 18, 2013

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Cry harder about Biden, you stupid Limeys.

OK
https://twitter.com/IrishTimes/status/1647155409009115139

# ? Apr 15, 2023 11:42

Skios: Oct 1, 2021

Al Goodwyn

Andy Marlette

Chris Britt

John Deering

Steve Benson

Steve Breen

# ? Apr 15, 2023 12:17

1: Feb 28, 2007; 1️⃣
Just another number.

Skios posted:

Al Goodwyn

Okay, we've got the glowing spirit energy flying around and the melting face (just look at that loving ear), but that's a pretty poor drawing of the Ark of the Covenant.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 13:46

Xiahou Dun: Jul 16, 2009; We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.

Maybe Moses was a pirate.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 15:09

Saint Sputnik: Apr 1, 2007; Tyrannosaurs in P-51 Volkswagens!

Charlz Guybon posted:

RIP

https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/1647032413527109634

I never "got" New Yorker cartoons

# ? Apr 15, 2023 15:16

Drakyn: Dec 26, 2012

Trapezium Dave posted:

Leunig used to express his opinions about modern motherhood and vaccinations and that's why he doesn't have the Monday political slot in the paper anymore.

It's never enough to drop him completely though.

I hunted around for a few minutes searching for a good dissection of what the gently caress was wrong with this guy and found this, which I presume doesn't contain any new information to anyone unfortunate enough to know Leunig's name already but was very enlightening for me.

Leunig, Wellness, and Wokeness posted:

These cartoons displace the crisis of war and refocus attention on the crisis of the self. The self, the real subject of Leunig�s cartoons, is forced into a foetal position through the contemplation of the horrors of modern life. This crisis of the self is solved in Leunig�s cartoons, a least momentarily, by mindfully contemplating a bee or sitting on a hilltop�what the wellness industry refers to as a moment of self-care (or a bit of time-out in nature with a cup of tea). �With the world in such a horrible crazy mess, how do we keep going?� asks one of Leunig�s characters in a recent cartoon. �I don�t GO. I just BE,� says the duck (who is clearly familiar with Pete Evans�s Heal: 101 Simple Ways to Improve Your Health in a Modern World). �I just let it all go,� says the dog. The songbird suggests listening to music or flying away. This is the Platonic ideal of a Leunig cartoon: melancholic pseudo-profundity spoken by companion animals.

The affective palette of Leunig�s cartoons and poems�acknowledging the sadness and confusion of modern life and offering a duck or a bee or a homily about love in return�perfectly suits the modus operandi of the wellness industry. That industry, as Mathias Nilges argues, presents

a softcore, largely gestural critique of capitalism�s tendency to take hold of all parts of our existence, of all of our time. But instead of continuing down this road and aiming for a systemic critique of the conditions under which we live and work (and under which the former increasingly becomes a matter of the latter), wellness � depart[s] from what is ultimately a social and structural matter and turns it into a matter of individual responsibility and strategy.
[...]
Because Leunig idealises maternal love, it�s not surprising that he has spent the last few decades policing the behaviour of young women. Women in his cartoons are either too woke to be in touch with their natural sensuality (there�s a fearsome harridan in one recent cartoon who�s branding a man�s bum with an M for Misogynist), or they�re too feminist, consumerist, or tertiary-educated to be motherly. Leunig�s men are granted the ability to escape and wander over the horizon, while women having any sort of life are abandoning their familial responsibilities (a lonely baby in one of his infamous cartoons says �I�m a stay-at-creche baby so she doesn�t have to be a stay-at-home mum�). In his essay �The Ties That Bind�, Leunig even salutes the Updikian heroes who �revolt� against the �oppression� and �emotional enslavement� of marriage through adultery; and yet (surprise!) this roguish flouting of convention is not suitable for women, whose job is to maintain eye contact with their children at all times. The freely self-realised individual in Leunig�s work is always a man.
[...]
Partly, this is connected to what we have to assume is a sincerely held belief that he�s still a scrappy working-class kid, never fully accepted by the cultural elite. On ABC Radio National�s The Book Show, Leunig spoke of his �inner Holden Caulfield�, the boy-hero of Salinger�s Catcher in the Rye, all alone in a society of �phoneys� who push their way to the top. Likewise, talking to Evans, Leunig said that the media industry he navigates �is very sort of racy, and tough, and clever � I�m not like that, I feel like I�m a child in a very tough environment�.

But while Leunig believes he�s Puck, the holy fool, he�s actually Oberon, the king of the forest. He�s a rich, white, heterosexual cis man, and a cultural behemoth, whereas his imagined �woke� enemies often belong to historically excluded groups, and are often precariously employed in a shrinking media industry that rarely offers its staff the luxurious platform that Leunig has enjoyed since the 1980s.
[...]
This is how a counter-cultural boomer politics founded on lonely men fleeing faceless corporate oppressors has been rewired, over just a few years, into a reactionary politics of male victimhood.

For Leunig and for those in the wellness mindset, suffering is intimate and private. It�s a burden that the individual bears and that the individual must solve through positive lifestyle change. It�s not a structural phenomenon that groups of oppressed or exploited people can solve together through political action. Leunig, along with those that decry so-called wokeness and cancel culture, also asserts that individuals are constantly menaced by the madness of collectives, online and in real life. Leunig�s opinion columns on this topic lump together collectives of all kinds: armies and empires, street protests and social media. It doesn�t matter if they�re fighting or upholding the status quo�all collectives wield repressive power. �Whatever the aim or cause a group may have,� he writes, �be it about social justice, environmental protection, marriage equality or women�s rights, there is always the possibility of an aggressive darkness developing in the chemistry of togetherness.�

Leunig�s embattled individualism relies on a sleight of hand: that he doesn�t belong to any party or identity group. Male privilege doesn�t exist, he argues in a 2017 essay: aren�t we all just humans? And there, in that argument, he betrays his privilege. As a white man, he�s never needed collective action to fight for his own status as human, to fight for basic rights and dignities. He�s had the luxury of getting by on his own�to be the kind of rambling loner he draws again and again for his new followers on Instagram.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 15:49

Angepain: Jul 13, 2012; what keeps happening to my clothes

Drakyn posted:

I hunted around for a few minutes searching for a good dissection of what the gently caress was wrong with this guy and found this, which I presume doesn't contain any new information to anyone unfortunate enough to know Leunig's name already but was very enlightening for me.

jesus yeah what an rear end in a top hat

# ? Apr 15, 2023 16:37

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

Drakyn posted:

I hunted around for a few minutes searching for a good dissection of what the gently caress was wrong with this guy and found this, which I presume doesn't contain any new information to anyone unfortunate enough to know Leunig's name already but was very enlightening for me.

Who on earth cares enough about Leunig to write all that?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 16:49

Dr. VooDoo: May 4, 2006

Aren�t like the the captions of New Yorker cartoons crowd sourced by people submitting them which is why they�re always esoteric?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:01

Electric Phantasm: Apr 7, 2011; YOSPOS

Angepain posted:

jesus yeah what an rear end in a top hat

What the hell is this?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:11

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Dr. VooDoo posted:

Aren�t like the the captions of New Yorker cartoons crowd sourced by people submitting them which is why they�re always esoteric?

I thought they were all captioned "Christ, what an rear end in a top hat."

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:12

Zulily Zoetrope: Jun 1, 2011; Muldoon

Electric Phantasm posted:

What the hell is this?

Someone's not familiar with Pete Evans�s Heal: 101 Simple Ways to Improve Your Health in a Modern World and the concept of self-care. :smug:

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:13

Angepain: Jul 13, 2012; what keeps happening to my clothes

Electric Phantasm posted:

What the hell is this?

This was his cartoon after the 2017 australian referendum on gay marriage approved making it legal

now I'm aware this doesn't fully answer your question as to what the gently caress this man is up to and what his loving deal is but there are some mysteries man will never truly comprehend

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:31

Nick Soapdish: Apr 27, 2008

Dr. VooDoo posted:

Aren’t like the the captions of New Yorker cartoons crowd sourced by people submitting them which is why they’re always esoteric?

Please, no meat touching ma'am

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:44

Cloud Potato: Jan 9, 2011; "I'm... happy!"

Guardian:

"Martin Rowson on Steve Barclay and the nurses� dispute � Nurses in England are to continue their strikes after voting to reject the health secretary�s latest pay deal"

Telegraph:

Rishi Sunak says no women have a penis and pledges to protect single-sex spaces; Keir Starmer says '99.9pc of women don't have a penis'; Grand National 2023 live: results and latest updates from Aintree as Corach Rambler wins
https://twitter.com/DaveyCartoons/status/1646916788146302984

Independent:

After Arthur C Michael.

The i paper:

Times:

Water companies argued against key pollution target

# ? Apr 15, 2023 17:59

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Why are British cartoonists so drat obsessed with feces?

# ? Apr 15, 2023 18:09

Hihohe: Oct 4, 2008; Fuck you and the sun you live under

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Why are British cartoonists so drat obsessed with feces?

Primary export

# ? Apr 15, 2023 18:23

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Why are British cartoonists so drat obsessed with feces?

It's about 3% of all the rivers and streams.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 18:31

Antigravitas: Dec 8, 2019; Die Rettung fuer die Landwirte:

They go to the beach for inspiration.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 18:42

100YrsofAttitude: Apr 29, 2013

China Daily

Stranded by Cai Meng presumably(who is the most often uncredited member)

Le Monde

Democracy for Dummies by Mica�l for Sin� mensuel N� 128

# ? Apr 15, 2023 19:51

After The War: Apr 12, 2005; to all of my Architects
let me be traitor

One of Leunig's greatest crimes is that his lazy horseshit is better-known that the vastly superior work of his sister Mary.

Phone posting, so I can't post the cartoon she did of shooting him the rear end and his guts coming out in the shape of dollar signs, but it's on there.

EDIT - Warning: Very frank depictions of childhood sexual abuse :nms:

After The War fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Apr 15, 2023

# ? Apr 15, 2023 20:08

bweep boop!: Dec 31, 2007; Nice shootin', Tex!

After The War posted:

One of Leunig's greatest crimes is that his lazy horseshit is better-known that the vastly superior work of his sister Mary.

Phone posting, so I can't post the cartoon she did of shooting him the rear end and his guts coming out in the shape of dollar signs, but it's on there.

I sure wish I didn't click this link. Thanks for not warning us what was behind it.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 20:15

After The War: Apr 12, 2005; to all of my Architects
let me be traitor

Sorry about that, I wasn't thinking how brutal that was for a landing page.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 20:18

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

Here's the cartoon she did of shooting him the rear end and his guts coming out in the shape of dollar signs, if people want to jump straight to that.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 20:23

L. Ron DeSantis: Nov 10, 2009

idonotlikepeas posted:

Clay Bennett

A rare glimpse of the Bennett we used to know.

Kellies nomination: Best overall

# ? Apr 15, 2023 22:16

InsertPotPun: Apr 16, 2018; Pissy Bitch stan

Skios posted:

Chip Bok

this us so much worse with context:

Steadiman posted:

Yup. I swear I thought I must be missing something but here it is...
https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1647273891117826050
That's it, that's literally all it is. Nothing more.

i thought that was just a random person but bok 100% knows the context and is still pushing the narrative

# ? Apr 15, 2023 22:23

Vib Rib: Jul 23, 2007; God damn this shit is
fuckin' re-dic-a-liss
🍖🍖😛🍖🍖

After The War posted:

One of Leunig's greatest crimes is that his lazy horseshit is better-known that the vastly superior work of his sister Mary.

EDIT - Warning: Very frank depictions of childhood sexual abuse

Hey do you know if this landing page someone's story, or a commentary? Or is this autobiographical?
Because if this is her own story then that would make the abuser in this Leunig himself.

E: Jesus Christ, this will come off as gushing, but I'm browsing the various galleries and there's so much frank and raw emotion in these drawings. I've felt so jaded looking at political cartoons and soulless "soulful" art for so long I didn't think I could still be hit so hard. What this poor woman's gone through in her life, all the strengths and triumphs and sorrows and tragedies, I can't even begin to comprehend. A world of pain and love is packed into these. I eventually had to stop, they hit me in such a raw place. God drat, what a master of her craft, and so much to say.

Vib Rib fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Apr 15, 2023

# ? Apr 15, 2023 22:40

Pants Donkey: Nov 13, 2011

I really need someone to clarify if Leunig sexually abused his sister or if that was a third sibling.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 22:42

Pants Donkey: Nov 13, 2011

According to Wikipedia, Mary has one brother, so yeah.

Honestly him being a particularly creepy sex criminal is not in the least bit surprising.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 22:44

Twelve by Pies: May 4, 2012; Again a very likpatous story

The Wikipedia article on Mike Leunig says,

quote:

A film documentary about his life by Kasimir Burgess, The Leunig Fragments, was released in 2020 and reveals various difficulties that Leunig has experienced with family relationships.[23] He did not attend his parents' funerals[24] and is not in regular contact with his siblings.

And googling for a little bit more info, a review in The Guardian says,

quote:

The first major indication of the film�s limitations occurs when Leunig reminisces about the deaths of his mother and father, reflecting that despite loving them both deeply he didn�t attend either of their funerals.

Why? The subject is evasive and speaks in tantalisingly vague terms, clearly reluctant to explore emotional wounds.

So I'm going to go ahead and say those Mary Leunig comics are definitely autobiographical.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 23:39

skeleton warrior: Nov 12, 2016

Here�s an article about Mary - https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/24/michael-leunigs-artist-sister-returns-fire-over-cartoon-of-young-mother-on-phone and the shooting-her-brother cartoon, which was in response to the lovely one Mike Leunig did about mothers so focused on instagram that they were neglecting their babies.

The article quotes her saying that the cartoon was done in fun as a tweak at him, not in anger, which feels off if he sexually abused her, but also she might not have wanted to bring it up or the paper might have dropped anything that made His Perfect Little Cartoonist look like the massive piece of poo poo he was. The drawing of the abuse has a guy who doesn�t look dissimilar to Mike Leunig, though, and I have no real reason to doubt that massive self-absorbed weirdo anti-vax misogynist Mike Leunig sexually abused his sister, so I don�t have a clear answer but gently caress him anyways.

# ? Apr 15, 2023 23:43

Edge & Christian: May 20, 2001; Earth-1145 is truly the best!
A world of singing, magic frogs,
high adventure, no shitposters

This interview from 2016 has her discussing various periods of strife with her family and a situation involving "all her siblings" and how she stopped speaking to "some of her family, including her parents" in the 1970s.

It goes on to indicate that she's had issues with Michael too, but that they've clearly been in contact more recently than 40+ years ago, so all evidence points to a) there being more than one Leunig brother and b) the one who sexually abused her not being Michael.

None of which makes his comics good, but he is (in this specific case, it would seem) not a sex criminal.

# ? Apr 16, 2023 00:00

Grape: Nov 16, 2017; Happily shilling for China!

escapegoat posted:

OK
https://twitter.com/IrishTimes/status/1647155409009115139

"Mr Gardiner, the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at US right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation, contrasted President Biden�s four-day trip to Ireland with his refusal to attend the coronation of King Charles III."

lol

# ? Apr 16, 2023 05:02