Monday, August 20, 2007
Cartoonin' it: Going too far?
Seen today on Richard Prince's Journalisms (8/20):
A reporter/cartoonist from the Florida Sun-Times is somewhere "dodging tomatoes" right now because of the above cartoon. Readers are reportedly upset about the use of the word "ho" and references to the "stop snitching" culture that has been permeating urban (and suburban, depending on how you look at it) communities for many years.
My two-cents:
Good for him! I'm always glad to see someone who doesn't mind getting under the skin of the reader, even if it's done to appeal to the lowbrow individuals out there.
It's time someone take up where Aaron McGruder (Boondocks) left off!
It's just too bad that the cartoonist's editor didn't stand firm in his decision to publish the piece:
--Mike Clark, the editorial page editor, reviewed and approved the cartoon by longtime Times-Union cartoonist Ed Gamble.
"'Using the word "ho" was bad judgment, and I regret that I did not edit it out,' Clark said.
...wait...isn't that the point?
Labels: comic strip, controversy
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Hm. I'm on the fence.
On one hand, I see the logic in stirring up controversy in order to bring attention to such an issue.
On the other hand, I wonder how effective it actually has been, or whether it just reinforces stereotypes in the minds of readers.
It doesn't help that the NAACP has spoken out against the cartoon, or that the editor is apologizing over the word "ho." (To me, the cartoon image of a black man weilding a gun over another black man is much more jarring.) So... I don't know....
I'm on the fence.