This is a cartoon from a few weeks ago, when the war against women in American politics was hot in the news. It has calmed down a bit, perhaps only because the media has a short attention span. But it’s still out there–some in the GOP want us to return to Mad Men days, when women were not really considered full fledged people.
I love Mad Men and I watched the new premier last night. The reason I like it is the characters, the story lines, the history. I do not want to return to those days (I was just a small child then). Yes, it is better now for women in the US in many respects. But you can see attitudes in Mad Men that persist (or have resurfaced), attitudes we are hearing from a certain faction of the GOP. I look forward to seeing how the writers write Joan, Peggy and Betty as we move further into the 1960′s. I’m hoping there aren’t too many headbands.
I was watching a story on the news the other night about the economy and Christmas. The correspondent interviewed customers in a store, and one of the interviews struck me. The youngish, apparently working class mother told the reporter: “I spent a thousand dollars less on Christmas this year.” A THOUSAND LESS? I was shocked. Maybe she has thirteen brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, all with children–okay. But my sense of it was that was not the case.
I like buying, and I spend during the holidays– I don’t mean to be a Grinch. But Americans need to get a grip. I think all this started with Ronald Reagan (one of my favorite people to blame for a lot of things). The GOP would re-elect him if they could. I bet someone is looking into that as we speak.
My #TED talk: Rendering the Unspoken. It’s about bodies, and opens with a video of me drawing.
Burnt Toast and Other Political Issues
I drew this cartoon a few weeks ago when Herman Cain first got into some difficulty. His campaign may be burnt toast now; he and his people are trying to decide if his candidacy can be scraped off and salvaged. The use of the word “toast” is being thrown around in the media a lot lately– on Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and President Obama. Newt is about to be put in the toaster, and Huntsman hasn’t even gotten out of the bag. It’s like a revolving toaster out there in Pundit Land.
I had to do something with it, so I did this stupid cartoon, a cartoon that is really meaningless, but hopefully brings you a smile.
(Source: whendotheyservethewine.com)
The 6th Floor: My Three Favorite New Yorker Cartoons
My wonderful husband, Michael Maslin, is one of his favorites! Here the article begins:
Surely there are others that might contend to be my “favorite,” but by “favorite” in this exercise, I mean the three New Yorker cartoons that shaped my image of what a New Yorker cartoon is.
“There’s a lot of perspective in this scene, and all of the gobbledy gook: the Oriental rug, grand painting, grand furniture, and grand everything all around. And in the center is a bull’s eye—that little kid standing there, looking at you. He’s just knocked on the door and he’s going to scare the hell out of somebody.”
- This week’s cover artist, George Booth, chooses eight of his favorite New Yorker Halloween covers: http://ow.ly/7ds5E
