Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

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Blue Metropolis part I

I've never drawn a cartoon in my life. - Palin

I was once involved in a discussion with a few people on the mechanics of humour. One participant said that you could distill all humour down to "That which should not be happening is happening". Another person replied that this would make a great pick-up line.

The first event I attended at the Blue Metropolis literary festival was the sold-out Writing Ridicule panel with Monty Python member Michael Palin and Montreal political cartoonist legend Aislin. I had an odd feeling going into the event, largely because it was clear that the majority of people (including J, who I went with) were mostly going just to catch a glimpse of Palin and hear anecdotes about Python. Nothing wrong with that, but it seemed to be the intention of the festival to actually have a “serious?discussion on humour between these two artists, as opposed to just staging a one man show. The other potential problem was that political cartoons are largely transitory and disposable, and the audience wouldn’t have memories of specific cartoons for reference, while they would surely be able to recall all the words to the Dead Parrot sketch. I was honestly expecting the worst. Happily, everyone seemed to get what they wanted. While Palin could have dominated the discussion he seemed incredibly attentive to what Aislin had to say, and vice versa.

”Look at those crotches! - Aislin



Aislin showed single panel gag cartoons on a slide projector by a number of different artists, each one funnier than the last. The cartoons shown included samples from New Yorker cartoonists Sam Gross, Harry Bliss, , Eric Lewis and Paul Steiner, whose dog cartoon can be seen above. Along the way they discussed the connection between laughter as a reaction to fear, and how the best cartoons almost always dealt with that which topics which make us nervous. It may be Humour 101 to some, but most of the audience seemed to take comedy for granted and were delighted to hear from two people who have obviously given the subject a great deal of thought.

They also discussed the oft-asked question “Where do your ideas come from?? For both of the humourists on the panel, the answer was in the absurdity of the mundane, for some reason usually caught in the morning. Palin described the process behind the creation of The Spanish Inquisition and the German version of The Lumberjack Song, and Aislin showed a how a piece of celery he was cleaning a few mornings before turned itself into a cartoon of a man holding his hands up in surrender.



“I like any situation where I make my editors uncomfortable. They get their lawyers and say “Jesus Christ, can’t we just get rid of this guy? - Aislin

Censorship came up, with Aislin showcasing cartoons that were pulled, he knew would be pulled, and even a few that he wanted pulled himself. They talked about the changing political climate, and relations with the U.S.A., especially concerns that the art of ridicule was becoming less tolerated in the States. This segued into the notion of humour as a barometer of a society’s maturity.

One of the more interesting parts of the panel was hearing Aislin and Palin talk about the political cartoonist’s struggle in depicting certain personalities by trying to find a physical or metaphorical attribute to exploit. Aislin remarked that sometimes the caricature of an individual takes on a life of its own and changes over the years. In the best cartoons, the caricature surmounts the actual subject and becomes visual shorthand for that person. Palin used Steve Bell’s depiction of John Major as an example. John Major was seen as so boring that he became a real challenge for political cartoonists. As Prime Minister, they had no choice but to draw him, but he was so dull they had nothing to hang onto. Bell decided to play on that very idea by drawing John Major as Superman, only partially dressed. Partially dressed, yet completely wishy-washy. Soon, John Major’s little red underpants took on a life of their own, until the day John Major left office and those underpants alone came to symbolize his entire career.



“I’m going for the cheap laugh. I’m no longer going for anything deeper. Working on a daily deadline you want to create something funny. If you’re laughing at the end of drawing it, you’ve succeeded. - Aislin

When asked during the Q & A why Python is so popular, Palin said that it’s because they weren’t topical. The session ended before I got a chance to ask about how there is that difference between the two men, one of whom works in a field that is completely topical and how that topicality can be a virtue in showing us our history. Political cartoons are almost completely disposable, with their comments becoming obsolete within days. However, the constant exposure to themes and visual metaphors present in political cartoons, in skilled hands, can seep into the viewer and shape their perception of current events. For example, Richard Nixon’s 5 o’clock shadow, Brian Mulroney’s chin, and the concept of McCarthyism. It’s life imitating art, with our memories of prominent politicians guided by how the cartoonists view them. Political cartoons could be a great springboard to making the personalities and attitudes of history come alive in an easy to understand format. And it doesn’t hurt that due to the savage work of the political cartoonist, political cartoons are less likely to be whitewashed like school textbooks. It may be easier to get into work that isn’t topical, but there is a different, deeper satisfaction in learning while you laugh.

“I don’t think it wears out, like other parts of the body. You laugh at different things, like your body wearing down. - Palin

Overall, the panel was a success, a sweeping non-stop hour of laughter, relevant anecdotes and serious discussion on what it means to be funny. Despite coming from almost completely opposite mediums, both participants were so in tune with what they were talking about that, by the moderator’s own admission, there was no need for a moderation at all. Judging by the laughter, I think many people who went for Palin may have taken away a finer appreciation of the craft of political cartooning. I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t learned a few things myself.

I wish I could say the same for the events that transpired in Blue Metropolis part II, coming sometime next week.

“We felt masturbating was worth fighting for. - Palin

posted by Steven at 1:44 AM