often say what words can not Editorial cartoons are a passion that Dr. Elaine Miller discovered by accident. Former Director of Women's Studies at SUNY Brockport, Miller began noticing them in 1984, when Michael Dukakis selected Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. Editorial cartoonists had much to say about who "wore the pants" on the Dukakis-Ferraro team, and Miller, fascinated about the way gender issues were explored through provocative pictures and pithy captions, was hooked. Miller is now a professor of foreign languages and literature, but her interest in editorial cartoons continues. "It is the role of the political cartoonist to take issue with what is occurring in politics or society; they intend to provoke," she told members of the Monroe County Historical Society at a presentation at their February meeting. "Cartoons capture important messages with both humanity and humor." Matthew Moore, a freelance cartoonist (he developed the cartoon that accompanies this story) and professor of history and political science at Roberts Wesleyan College, believes the power of editorial cartoons rests in their accessibility. "You don't have to be able to read well to get the message in a cartoon," he said. "Once you see the carton you almost can't help but reflect on its meaning." Certainly the crowd at Miller's presentation "Editorial Cartoonists on 9/11: International Perspectives" at the Morgan-Manning House on February 27 found both meaning and provocation in the cartoons Miller shard with them. Responses ranged; there was reverent silence for images of a weeping Statue of Liberty and laughter at various Al Qaeda punch lines. Then there was the cartoonists' moment of triumph, the mixed reactions and conversation resulting from pictures depicting President Bush as a cowboy who has gotten a bit wild with his six-shooters or as a musician playing oil drums, sounding out notes of "war, war, war." "I think the most effective cartoons often have the least captioning," Miller said. "The power of the image can say all there is to say." Moore said cartoonists take a couple of different approaches to their work. There are "punch line" cartoons, designed to give their viewers an "I got it" moment. Others are working for a more reflective response, something that the viewer has to think about. Miller shared examples of both, collected from both American newspapers and others from around the world. "It's very interesting to see that the international cartoonists are split, much like the American cartoonists," she said. "Some are supporting the United States, saying that our government is right to take action, others accuse Bush of being a warmonger." What stand to take -- what message to send - is a balancing act between personal beliefs and the desire to get people thinking, Moore said. Sometimes the cartoonist buries his own beliefs in order to create an effective cartoon, sometimes letting those beliefs blaze is the key to success. And it usually is "his" beliefs, Miller noted. "There are only four women editorial cartoonists out of the 250 working on daily newspapers in this country." The women cartoonists, whom Miller has interviewed for an upcoming documentary, say that perhaps our society may not think it is the woman's place to critique. Or perhaps it is that women are more vulnerable to the backlash against their cartoons. Backlash is an occupational hazard in a business designed to stir folks up, Moore, who once regularly contributed cartoons to the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald, said. "It's amazing how consistent people can be," he said. "Every single time I did a cartoon around guns or gun control, someone from the National Rifle Association (NRA) made a phone call." But that, of course, is the American way. In this digital age, you don't have to wait for the newspaper or collect newspapers from around the world to get your fill of editorial cartoons. Miller recommends Daryl Cagle's Pro Cartoonists Index for a daily online dose of satire (http://cagle.slate.msn.com. No www.) At the site you can search for cartoons by either topic or cartoonist. There are resources for teachers, many of whom are now using editorial cartoons as instruction tools, at the site as well. "There's something special in the editorial cartoon," Miller said. "The message isn't all spelled out for us like it is in the written editorial. Many times we have to stop and think in order to discover the intended message." |
