They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and nowhere is that truer than in the world of political cartoons.
With a few strokes of ink, cartoonists have toppled reputations, challenged authority, and sparked revolutions...all while eliciting a chuckle, a gasp or a laugh or two.
These satirical sketches called cartoons turn complex issues into powerful, often humourous images, proving that sometimes a well-drawn caricature can wound more deeply than any blade.
No wonder they are seen as enemies of the establishment these days. But then again, they always have.
In a world where the news often feels stranger than fiction, we need the sharp, exaggerated truths of political cartoons. As Mark Twain apparently said, “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.”
Which brings me to one of my favourite cartoonists. It was back in 2018 when Larry Pickering passed away and went to whatever rambunctious old cartoonists and blog writers call the Rainbow Bridge, that I began this blog. Larry was the quintessential Australian larrikin. The man that offended and seemingly didn't give a hoot. In fact, he managed to offend with ease and incredible skill.
His pen was mightier than the sword and he wielded it with clever cartoons,words and with much enthusiasm. In fact, he seemingly managed to offend and or entertain Australia with his rapier wit and his astoundingly provocative cartoons depicting modern Australia.
As we approach the end of the year, I lament the passing of people like Larry and what is an increasingly threatened species... that of the political satirist.
But more on him later in this post.
Cartoons have long served as a satirical mirror to society, poking fun at power and making complex issues digestible (and sometimes rather amusing) for the masses. And boy oh boy, could Larry do that.....
The political cartoon’s origin story starts in the 18th century, though its raw spirit probably began in caves with someone drawing a less-than-flattering woolly mammoth caricature of their chieftain.
The art of satire took off in Europe, where caricature masters like James Gillray wielded their quills like swords. Gillray's depictions of King George III and Napoleon were the 18th-century equivalent of a viral tweet, with everyone from peasants to aristocrats sniggering at them.
These cartoons were printed on broadsheets, shared in pubs, and sometimes nailed to walls, making them the first "comments section" for political chitchat.
In the 19th century, cartoonists began creating enduring symbols. Thomas Nast, often called the father of the American political cartoon, gave us the Republican elephant, the Democratic donkey...... his relentless attacks on Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall’s corruption helped bring the political machine to its knees.
Tammany Hall, the New York Democratic political organisation, is best known for its scandals, corruption, embezzlement, fraud, and rigged elections. At the heart of it all was William Magear Tweed, nicknamed “Boss Tweed”, the corrupt politician behind the Tammany Hall party machine from the height of its power in 1868 to his eventual downfall in 1871.
Voter fraud and rigged elections were also rampant, and Tweed elected many of his friends to other influential positions. Hmm....
Boss Tweed was brought down in large part by an expose by the New York Times and Harper’s political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who were investigating the large scale of corruption among the city’s political officials. Despite their efforts, they were largely unsuccessful until the election of 1871, when the public began to turn on Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine. But that is another story....
Tweed himself lamented, “I don’t care so much what the papers say about me....my constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see pictures!” The pen.....or rather, the pencil....proved mightier than the sword.
The 20th century saw cartoons weaponised on a global scale. During World War I and II, propaganda posters used cartoonish exaggerations to rally the home front or demonise the enemy. Hitler was often drawn as a bumbling, mustachioed fool, while America’s "Rosie the Riveter" posters inspired women to roll up their sleeves.
Meanwhile, political satire evolved in newspapers, with cartoonists like Herblock in the U.S. skewering McCarthyism and Nixon. These single-panel cartoons were like political editorials but with fewer words and more punch....literally, in the case of any Nixon caricature.
By the mid-20th century, cartoons leaped off the page and onto TV. Programmes like The Simpsons and South Park became cultural juggernauts, holding a funhouse mirror up to society and politics. And then came the internet, where political cartoons mutated into something new: the meme. Why painstakingly hand-draw a caricature when you can slap text onto an existing image? Memes brought political humour to the masses.
Which brings me back to Larry. I can't draw but I do use memes here a lot.
Larry was bad. Bad to the bone. But he was a good bloke... in a blokey kind of way. He didn't give a hoot who he upset. He didn't mind ruffling a feather or two and he always managed to make me laugh or think hard, very hard, about Life, Australia and Everything. His blog was my go-to place every morning and I loved the friendship and comraderie I found there. I have hoped to build that same feeling here. But it has been a long slog. But we are finally getting there.
One of his cartoons caused him to have to get police protection.
What people didn't get about Larry was that he was a Patriot.
Larry loved Australia. Of that there is no doubt. But he never shied away from telling it how it is. And THAT made him many enemies.
I first discovered his blog about 12 years ago. I became an instant fan. I met people there..... people who I still " meet " online everyday here.
To those of you who did not know him or ever hear of him, here is a brief overview.
Larry Pickering (1942-2018), a well known larrikin and often controversial Australian political newspaper cartoonist, caricaturist, and illustrator of books and calendars. The winner of four Walkley Awards, a #1 in the Australian Best Seller’s list, an entrepreneur, racehorse trainer, adventurist, and devoted father.
Larry is best known for his political satire and nude characterisations through-out the prime ministership of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser prior to his retirement in the early 1980s and later Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, and Tony Abbott following his return in 2010. His work blew away the nation and his life was just as fun and exciting as he was. Larry passed away from cancer in 2018 at the age of 76 and is survived by 11 children, 18 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and his wife, Carol.source
Larry wasn't a big fan of Same Sex Marriage and his cartoon about that was something that got the leftist tongues wagging and them saying more than " Tut tut. "
He was, as Monty Python would have said " a very naughty boy. "
Larry was also very outspoken about matters in relation to Aboriginal life here in Australia and that made him an even naughtier boy.
When the incredible cartoonist, the late Bill Leak, published his cartoon about our Aboriginal folk, Bill was lambasted and died not long after. His sin was to draw a cartoon that the left hated.
The tragedy is that Bill's cartoon was too truthful for the leftie luvvies swanning about in Melbourne and the leafy suburbs and cafes of Sydney.
Larry fired back with a response in the form of his own cartoon.
For myself, I salute the man who, upon his demise, inspired me to start Patriotrealm. While my late father inspired the name, it was Larry Pickering who drew me to take a step into the unknown and start a blog.
I am not sure if I should thank him or curse him but I doubt that Larry would give a bugger either way.
Sometimes, I feel that I have let him down. I am no good at drawing and can barely do an image of a stickman, let alone a cartoon. I have nowhere near his wit, his insight, or, most importantly, his bravery. I am but a shadow of who he was.
But then again, when he passed away, Australia was a different country. A shadow of its former self.
Before he died, he said, after refusing to undergo chemotherapy “I don’t want the kids to see me wasting away. I’ve knocked back the chemo and will go on as best I can”. In many respects, I think he said it all.
We are seeing our beloved Australia wasting away and we are trying to carry on as best we can.
When Steve Irwin died, I think that a little bit of us died too.
When people like Bill Leak, Larry Pickering and Steve Irwin leave us, we feel such a sense of loss. The loss of Barry Humphries was a devastating blow to wit and satire.
Sadly, we all fear that this is how it ends. It is not If, but When.
I wonder how many will be at Australia's funeral? Or will they even bother?
Maybe it has already been held?
I hope not.....I hope that Australia will rally around and rise up to fight another day. If not? We will be no more than a memory and the joke will be on us. Except no one will be laughing.
