Kat Williams
‘Discuss the role that Illustration can play during periods of political and/or social upheaval.’
Illustration, particularly satire cartoons and caricatures, can be used to great effect during times of social and political upheaval.
Many have argued that satire offers little more than light relief from the harsh realities of political issues. According to satirical comedian Peter Sagal (2012), satire’s role ‘is to help people deal with the political reality [and] keep them from being depressed and anxious’. He is skeptical about the claim that political satire can actually change things, adding that ‘no politician has ever said to me, “What you said made me rethink my actions,” but lots of people have said, “That funny joke you made helped me cope with the fact that a jerk like that is in power.”’ His point is seconded by past director of satirical magazine The Onion, Baratunde Thurston (2012), who says that the the ability to laugh at politics makes it more bearable, adding that ‘it’s not as if satire, or comedic influence in general, is going to radically change someone’s mind.’
However, it can be deduced by looking at historical examples that the use of satire as a political weapon can cause a more significant reaction amongst both the public and their leaders. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was reported to have said that the English caricaturist James Gillray ‘did more than all the armies in Europe to bring me down’ (circa 1814). Whilst violence inflicts physical damage upon a campaign, satire can be used to directly and specifically target an individual, stripping them of their perceived superiority and exposing their vulnerabilities and insecurities, placing them in a defenceless and embarrassing position in the eyes of the ‘Maniac Ravings, or Little Boney in a Strong Fit’ (Gillray, 1803)
public.
Humour is the key to satire’s success. According to Srdja Popovic and Mladen Joksic writing for Foreign Policy in 2013, humour brings the advantage of a ‘cool factor, which helps movements attract new members’, and incites ‘clumsy reactions from a movements’ opponents’ (2013). In fact, humour is so effective in promoting solidarity that it is recognised as a form of nonviolent activism, defined by The Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS) with the term ‘laughtivism’ (Popovic 2013).
Page 1 of 11
Kat Williams
Satire’s threat to dictators and political leaders can be judged by their reaction to satirical attacks. Napoleon is an example of a figure whose perceived personality has been defined by the many satirical depictions circulated throughout Britain at the time. Within these images he appears as a small, cowardly and greedy man throwing temper tantrums, as seen in ‘Maniac Ravings - or - Little Boney in a Strong Fit’ (Gillray, 1803). The further snub of Britain’s refusal to recognise his status of emperor is made clear by the way he is always depicted in the uniform of a military commander, not the robes of an emperor or king. Napoleon’s fear of the power of the cartoon to make him appear ridiculous was no secret: he famously reacted by instituting ‘one of the most effective and heavy-handed regimes of censorship of comic art in all European history’ (Scully, 2011).
This aggressive attempt to silence caricaturists was echoed during the First World War in the case of Dutch cartoonist Louis Raemaekers. Through his illustrations, sold in the form of postcards to raise funds for the French Red Cross, Raemaekers sought to expose the terrible acts of cruelty committed by the German military campaigns and challenge the government’s justification of its invasion of Belgium. His message was presented clearly and explicitly: ‘They'll Whitewash Me Somehow’ is the caption under an illustration depicting a German soldier looting the ransacked house of a massacred civilian family. Another piece, with the original title of ‘Unmasked, The Yellow Book’, refers to the publication of the Bryce Report, which contained a collection of witness accounts which revealed ‘the official publication of some of the details of atrocities committed by the Huns on the defenceless women and children of ravished Belgium’ (Cable 1916).
'They'll Whitewash Me Somehow’ (Raemaekers, 1915)
Although the true extent of these atrocities has been debated, this notoriety of Raemaekers' work throughout Europe was of great concern to the German government at the time, evidenced by their offer of a 12,000 guilder reward for his capture ‘dead or alive’. Raemaekers found himself under threat from ‘German agents infesting Holland’ and his wife allegedly received numerous anonymous letters from Germany containing threats to the illustrator’s life. Pressure on the Dutch from the German government resulted in his prosecution, though he was ultimately acquitted by the jury who confirmed ‘his right to express his opinions’, a decision which caused outrage in Germany. A warning from the Cologne Gazette stated that after the war, Germany would ‘demand payment with the interest that is due’ for each of Raemaekers’ cartoons Page 2 of 11
‘Unmasked, The Yellow Book’ (Raemaekers, 1915)
Kat Williams
(Allen 2015). Ironically, this persecution brought his work to the attention of the Allies, who used it as propaganda aimed to persuade the neutral countries, particularly the United States (Fox 2014).
A similar reaction can be observed within the altercation between Adolf Hitler and the Australian cartoonist Sir David Low in the years prior to the declaration of WWII. In the same way that Napoleon is still recognised today as the short, power-crazed lunatic of Gillray’s cartoons, Hitler’s appearance in popular culture can be traced back to the early work of Low, in which he is depicted with prominent facial features and exaggerated movements of the limbs, mocking the march and salute of Hitler’s armed forces. Low intended to undermine any respect or awe the British public may have held for Hitler and the Nazi party. According to Michael Foot, who at that time was the Acting Editor for the Evening Standard, these memorable and iconic cartoons ‘changed the atmosphere in the way people saw Hitler’ (1938).
Low’s work was remarkable in its extraordinary capacity to infuriate the Nazi party and especially the Fuhrer himself. Low appreciated the advantage of an unflattering and comical caricature over rancid, graphic images and ‘It Worked at the Reichstag - Why Not Here?’ - Low, 1933
scare-tactics, saying ‘no dictator is inconvenienced or even displeased by
cartoons showing his terrible person stalking through blood and mud. That is the kind of idea about himself that a power-seeking world-beater would want to propagate. It not only feeds his vanity, but unfortunately it shows profitable returns in an awed world. What he does not want to get around is the idea that he is an ass, which is really damaging’ (1940).
The ‘frenzy’ caused by his cartoons was described by the then Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax: ‘As soon as a copy of the Evening Standard arrives, it is pounced on for Low's cartoon… telephones buzz, tempers rise, fevers mount, and the whole governmental system of Germany is in uproar. It has hardly subsided before the next one arrives. We… can't understand the violence of the reaction’ (1937).
In the years leading up to the start of the Second World War, many feared that Low’s cartoons might seriously aggravate the already uneasy relations between Britain and Germany. During the 1936 Olympic Games, hosted in Berlin, the Assistant Editor of the Evening Standard wrote to Low, keen to avoid the publication of any material which might prove detrimental to Britain’s relations Page 3 of 11
Kat Williams
with the countries represented in Berlin. The Evening Standard’s editor Percy Cudlipp also expressed fears that the frequent depictions of Hitler in the newspaper ‘at this time might very well do serious harm’ (1936). In another instance, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain expressed concern that ‘such criticism might do a great deal to embitter relations when [Britain is] trying to improve them’ (1938).
Indeed, the Nazis were particularly annoyed by criticisms in the British press, especially by the cartoons of Low of the Evening Standard which were a frequent source of complaint (Chamberlain 1938). After the war, it emerged that Low had been placed high up on Hitler’s ‘death-list’ (Benson 2008) and this desperate defence of his own vanity is a reaction considered disproportionate and silly. In line with CANVAS’ contemporary definition of ‘laughtivism’, Low had succeeded in ‘provoking the regime into reactions that undercut its legitimacy’ (Popovic, S., Joksic, M. 2013). As Low explained in 1940, he would always remember Hitler ‘not as the majestic, monstrous myth of his propaganda build-up, but as the sissy who whined to the British Foreign Office about his dignity when I ran him for a while as a comic strip.’
Low’s refusal to quit making these cartoons was later considered a heroic act of patriotism. He had successfully raised the morale of the British public whilst simultaneously waging war on the very ego of the enemy leader, and he was knighted in 1962.
Today, the internet is the primary method of international communication and a new form of satire has emerged: the online meme. Defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations’, they often combine a photograph, video or found image with a line of text which uses pop culture references to humorous effect. This style of meme is not classed as a form of Illustration in the traditional sense, however within this context it can be analysed under the same classification as political cartoons and caricatures by considering them all as visual satire.
As the internet rapidly becomes a mainstream media outlet, with Britain seeing a 68% increase in news consumption from online sources over the past 10 years (Ofcom, 2015: 122), it could be argued that the internet meme serves as a replacement for traditional satirical images. Indeed, editorial cartooning is in decline. In 1990, there were about 280 professional political cartoonists working in the USA. By 2000, this number had decreased to 80, and by 2013 the number was reported to be under 30 (Rall 2013). According to blogger Lee Pham, political memes ‘can offer social commentary on politicians or political issues - and that’s the threat that editorial cartoons face, handicapped by the constrictions of the newsprint medium’ (2013). This is echoed by Dr. Albion M. Butters, who writes that today’s public is increasingly being informed by online memes Page 4 of 11
Kat Williams
‘rather than digesting the text and subtext of images and words crafted by a professional editorial commentator’ (2016).
It is therefore worth noting the increase in the volume of satire viewed by the general public, as so many of these memes are created and shared online every day. As social media sites play an important role in the sharing of news, memes and political opinion, it has become very easy for anybody to broadcast their own - sometimes biased or misleading - comments on current affairs to an enormous international audience.
Worryingly, studies have shown that internet users are likely to accept the first Google result as the correct answer to their search query, with little or no thought into the legitimacy of this information. This raises the issue of the amount of false information and propaganda readily available online, often designed to appear trustworthy, as in the case of so-called ‘pseudo sites’ such as www.martinlutherking.org, which claims to present ‘a true historical examination’ of Martin Luther King Jr.. Aimed at students carrying out research for the Martin Luther King Day Essay Contest, it perpetrates to be ‘a valuable resource for teachers and students alike’, masking its true intention to cause damage to King’s reputation. In fact, the site has been discovered to be hosted by StormFront, a White Supremacist group led by former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, Don Black (Bartlett, Miller 2011: 15; Thompson 2011).
In the same way, public opinion can be manipulated through the distribution of memes which deliberately distort information. One recent example is a widely-shared photo which supposedly shows refugees beating German police officers with an ISIS flag, however further investigation revealed that the image actually originates from an unrelated event which took place in 2012 before the rise of the Islamic State (Dearden 2015).
Due to the ease in which a picture can be taken out of context and used as false evidence to support the claims of an individual or organisation, and to the sheer quantity of such unreliable content competing for online attention, rather than undertake the difficult task of evaluating and triangulating sources in order to discern factual information from the biased, opinion-based or untrue, the casual internet user may indiscriminately dismiss what they see on social media as unimportant trivia. This may weaken the effect of the message behind a piece of present day satirical imagery, as when viewed on a social media stream alongside an overabundance of diverse content, ranging from these examples of inaccurate or questionable information to comical photos of clumsy cats, it is trivialised along with the rest and its importance and credibility is lost.
Page 5 of 11
Kat Williams
A comparable argument suggests that the sharing of memes on social media risks having an adverse effect on political activity, as through the process of sharing a meme with an online community the user gains a rewarding sense of having already undertaken meaningful action. This comes under the coined term ‘clicktivism’, used to describe online petitions, polls and email campaigns, criticised for ‘unfairly compet[ing] with legitimate local organisations who represent an authentic voice of their communities’ (White 2010).
However, there is evidence that the sharing of memes is not necessarily detrimental to a political cause. According to Paul Brewer, associate director for research at the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, memes are a participatory form of campaigning due to the ease in which they are generated by civilians and their capacity to ‘take off’ (2012). In practice, it follows a basic rule: the more people that are aware of a cause, the more there are who then choose to support it. Raemaekers was persecuted by the German government of the time, but their attempts to silence him only brought his message to the attention of the allies and neutrals (Allen, 2015). This international awareness to the events preceding WWI played a key role in the respective countries’ decisions to participate or intervene.
The way in which this awareness is transformed into public support again goes back to ‘laughtivism’ and the value of humour to break fear and build confidence. After the Tunisian revolution of 2011, Hosni Mubarak, who previously used state-sanctioned force stifle political opposition, found himself grossly outnumbered due to the utilisation of online ‘Installing Freedom’ (Foreign Policy)
memes by young protesters as a means to promote their cause. One example is an
illustration made from a screenshot of files being copied on a computer. ‘Error installing Freedom’, it reads, ‘Please remove “Mubarak” and try again’. Aside from rallying support at home, this use of humorous imagery also communicated a positive image of the Egyptian uprising to the outside world, winning the sympathy of the international community (Popovic, S., Joksic, M. 2013).
It can be argued that internet memes threaten today’s political leaders just as caricature threatened Hitler and Napoleon. Russian president Vladimir Putin is regularly exploited by online memes, as evidenced by an information page on online meme database KnowYourMeme.com, which includes examples of the images, videos and single-topic blogs in which he makes an appearance. Many relate to political events, such as the allegedly rigged election of 2011. Others Page 6 of 11
Kat Williams
mock the publicity photos released over the course of his presidency in which he is shown participating in a range of ‘macho’ outdoor activities to promote his carefully constructed public image of a strong and overtly masculine leader.
Given the quantity and popularity of these memes it can be assumed that Putin is aware of their existence, yet he appears to remain thick-skinned and unswayed; and the lack of an explosive, furious reaction may seem surprising or even disappointing. However, with the preservation of his formidable public image paramount, a more discreet course of action has been taken by the president to quieten the creators and sharers of these memes. In April 2015, the Kremlin’s media watchdog Roskomnxdzor clarified that it is an offence to use the photograph of a celebrity or public figure in a meme ‘when the image has nothing to do with [their] personality’ (Roskomnxdzor 2015; Rothrock 2015). This follows a court case in which popular singer Valeri Syutkin claimed his reputation had been damaged by an image of his face captioned with obscene lyrics by another artist. Syutkin’s victory in court and the Russian government’s subsequent readiness to amend the legislation raises questions about censorship and freedom of speech. As a public figure, Putin is protected by this change, hence his government’s vested interest in Syutkin’s case.
Pop singers aside, the power to enforce the removal of any created image from the web deemed unflattering or harmful to his own propagated image is now in Putin’s hands. Russia’s strict regulations over public internet usage has given Putin the level of control over satirical attacks that Hitler sought throughout the 1930s, demonstrated by his desperate attempts to silence Low and Raemaekers.
Putin’s move to censor certain internet memes shows that they’re considered a serious political threat. There have been instances in which online memes have been used in politics to attack the reputation of a rival, as demonstrated in 2012 when the US Republican party recognised the potential of an online meme to attack president Barrack Obama.
“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help,” Obama said in a speech made in Roanoke, Virginia. “Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive... If you’ve got a business - you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. (2012)”
The speech sparked much controversy on the internet after the line 'you didn't build that’ was lifted out of context and became a meme. Separated from his speech, Obama’s words appeared to discredit the work of small business owners. One image uses religion in its attack. It combines an image of Jesus and the verse from Genesis 1:1: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and Page 7 of 11
Kat Williams
the Earth’ with a photo of Obama and a speech bubble containing his quote word-for-word, ‘you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen’. The US is a widely Christian country, so showing the president arguing the word of the Bible would have had a profound effect on the public. This effect was picked up on by Obama’s opposition, and within days variations of the ‘you didn’t build that’ meme had appeared on the front page of the US Republican party’s website. The phrase was exploited again later in their campaign with the use of the controversial slogan ‘We Built This’ (Know Your Meme 2015).
The meme with its uncomplicated, relatable style of
‘You Didn't Build That’ (KnowYourMeme)
humour, shared on an internationally accessible social media platform, has the potential to be seen by billions of people worldwide. In the 21st century the key to an attack on a political leader is not so much the content of the satire than the sheer quantity of support and popularity rallied for the opposition’s cause: the ‘online chatter’ (Harris 2012). Editorial caricature may be in decline, but if the meme serves as its modern-day replacement, satirical illustration plays just as important a political role today as it did in the 19thand 20th centuries.
Page 8 of 11
Kat Williams
Bibliography
Books (2001) The Bible: Contemporary English Version, London: Harper Collins.
Navasky, V. S. (2013) The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and Their Enduring Power, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Raemaekers, L., and Cable, B. et al. (1916) Raemaekers’ Cartoons, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company.
Images Gillray, J. 1803, ‘Manic Ravings, or Little Boney in a Strong Fit’, London: James Gillray.
Installing Freedom 2013, Foreign Policy, US, https://foreignpolicymag.files.wordpress.com/ 2013/04/installing_freedom_edited_021.jpg (Accessed 3 May 2016).
Raemaekers, L. 1916, ‘They’ll Whitewash Me Somehow’, UK, http://www.worldwar1postcards.com/ resources/r13%20%5B1600x1200%5D.jpg.opt272x425o0%2C0s272x425.jpg (Accessed 3 May 2016).
Raemaekers, L. 1916, ‘Unmasked, The Yellow Book’, Raemaekers’ Cartoons: With Accompanying Notes by Well-Known English Writers, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company.
You Didn’t Build That 2012, Know Your Meme, US, http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/ newsfeed/000/354/137/477.jpg (Accessed 3 May 2016).
Reports Bartlett, J. and Miller, C. (2011) Truth, Lies and The Internet, London: Demos.
Ofcom (2015) The Communications Market Report, London: Ofcom.
Videos Fox, J. (2014) Atrocity Propaganda in World War 1, The British Library, available through The British Library’s World War 1 website, <http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/atrocitypropaganda> (Accessed 26 April 2016).
Page 9 of 11
Kat Williams
Obama, B. (2012) President Obama: If you've got a business -- you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen, Youtube, available through the Youtube website, <https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFK2_D3aBXo> (Accessed 2 May 2016). Websites ‘Meme’, Oxford Dictionary definition, available through the Oxford Dictionaries website, <http:// www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/meme> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Allen, P. 2015, ‘Louis Raemaekers’, available through Picture Postcards from the Great War 1914-1918 website, <http://www.worldwar1postcards.com/louis-raemaekers.php> (Accessed 31 January 2016).
Benson, T. S. 2008, ‘Low and the Dictators’, available through the Politcal Cartoon Society website, <http://www.original-political-cartoon.com/cartoon-history/low-and-dictators/> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Dearden, L. 2015, ‘The fake refugee images that are being used to distort public opinion on asylum seekers’, available through the Independent website, <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ europe/the-fake-refugee-images-that-are-being-used-to-distort-public-opinion-on-asylumseekers-10503703.html> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Dr. Enrique et al. 2015, ‘Vladimir Putin’, available through the Know Your Meme website, <http:// knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/vladimir-putin> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Harris, V et al. 2012, ‘Political Memes: Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control?’, available through the NPR website, <http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/10/24/163552936/political-memesfast-cheap-and-out-of-control?> (Accessed 2 May 2016).
Netoholic et al. 2015, ‘You Didn’t Build That’, available through the Know Your Meme website, <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/you-didnt-build-that> (Accessed 2 May 2016).
Neuman, S. 2012, ‘Political Memes: Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control?’, It’s All Politics, available from the NPR website, <http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/10/24/163552936/politicalmemes-fast-cheap-and-out-of-control> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Page 10 of 11
Kat Williams
Popovic, S. 2013, ‘Laughtivism: The New Activists Will Spread Democracy – With a Cheeky Smile on their Faces’, available from the Princeton University website, <http://www.princeton.edu/ ~slaughtr/Commentary/13%20Wired%20world%20in%202013%20(dragged)%201.pdf> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Popovic, S., Joksic, M. 2013, ‘Why Dictators Don’t Like Jokes’, Foreign Policy, available from Foreign Policy website, <http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/04/05/why-dictators-dont-like-jokes/> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Roskomnxdzor 2015, a post detailing an amendment to an existing law, available through the Roskomnxdzor website, < https://vk.com/wall-76229642_37568> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Rothrock, K. 2-15, ‘The Kremlin Declares War on Memes’, RuNet Echo, available through the Global Voices website, <https://globalvoices.org/2015/04/10/russia-the-kremlin-declares-war-onmemes/> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Sagal, P., Thurston, B. et al. 2012, ‘How does Satire Influence Politics?’, Moment, November December 2012, <http://www.momentmag.com/how-does-satire-influence-politics/> (Accessed 31 January 2016).
Scully, R. 2011, ‘The Cartoon Emperor: The Impact of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte on European Comic Art, 1848-1870’, European Comic Art, Vol. 4, No. 2, abstract only, available through Questia website, <https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2532410991/the-cartoon-emperor-theimpact-of-louis-napoleon> (Accessed 31 January 2016).
Thompson, K. 2011, ‘White Supremacist Site MartinLutherKing.org Marks 12th Anniversary’, available through the Huffington Post Website, <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-thomson/ white-supremacist-site-ma_b_809755.html> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
White, M. 2010, ‘Clicktivism’, available through the Micah White website, <https:// www.micahmwhite.com/clicktivism/> (Accessed 1 February 2016).
Page 11 of 11