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Canberra Today 13°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Opinion / Drawing the line on cartoons

EDITORIAL and political cartooning is in the spotlight at the moment over a controversial cartoon drawn by News Limited cartoonist Bill Leak.

Satire certainly has the potential to shock when it touches cultural or religious issues.

I agree with Leak, when someone complains about a cartoon, you may have never met them but it’s amazing how they think that they know you so well, that they are able to say what you, as a cartoonist, were thinking when you were drawing the cartoon.

The thing is, whether you’re a comedian or a cartoonist, satire always has the potential to make us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes knowing the truth also makes us feel uncomfortable.

I might be a cartoonist that stays away from the permissible limits of the right to freedom of expression, but

Cartoonist Paul Dorin... "With particular topics you sometimes need to be harsh for the whole point of the cartoon to work."
Cartoonist Paul Dorin… “With particular topics you sometimes need to be harsh for the whole point of the cartoon to work.”

My goal for a cartoon is to stir a laugh or a smile, which as a result can sometimes cause a few to be offended.

Exaggeration is the key formula to drawing cartoons and this means that sometimes the harsher the topic satirised, the more biting the cartoon is in the end.

I think the last time l was ever in fear of the repercussions for a cartoon l had drawn was back in high school…that funny caricature of my teacher, which was confiscated, ended up with me being sent to the disciplinary office nervously waiting and wondering if l was about to receive three or six of the best for my conviction. The irony was that the particular caricature in question was stuck up in pride of place in the staff room!

I have had a few cartoons in the past that people have said were “offensive or insulting” and it may have only been a few complaints, but it has caused a growing concern with me around self-censorship; l am finding myself being careful of boundaries, especially on certain issues, and this may be because cartoons are reaching people more than ever with the advent of social media.

l have noticed over the years that some cartoonists have toned down their artistic/creative licence. l am comfortable knowing where to draw the line, it’s just not as curvy as some cartoonists.

There have been a few of my cartoons that have been half drawn and ended up in the trash. Okay, so maybe they were a little too controversial and l didn’t want to find myself wondering if I was going to receive six of the best as a result.

I guess we’re very lucky in this country, in some countries being funny is a dangerous business.

Paul Dorin is the “CityNews” cartoonist.

 

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