Warren Brown: It was a great, and simple, cartoon
IT was a great, and simple, cartoon — it wasn’t trying to make a grandiose political statement — it was a funny caricature of Serena Williams throwing a tantrum, writes Warren Brown.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
EVERY now and then an editorial cartoon can be something of a social commentary hand grenade — you pull the pin, roll it across the floor and put your fingers in your ears.
You’re aware of its explosive potential but sometimes, due to the fast pace of news, it’ll bounce down the stairs and into the garden where it can fizz.
But then there are times when unexpectedly even the most innocuous cartoon will go off — with spectacular results.
ANDREW RULE: RIGHT ON THE MARK
I SHUT TWITTER TO SAVE FAMILY: KNIGHT
EDITORIAL: KNIGHT’S CARTOON NOT RACIST OR SEXIST
This is what happened with Melbourne Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight’s Serena Williams cartoon, which has gone thermonuclear overnight thanks to the immediacy of social media.
It was a great, and simple, cartoon — it wasn’t trying to make some grandiose, posturing, political statement — it was a bloody funny caricature of Serena Williams throwing a tantrum, jumping on her tennis racket, the umpire whispering to her Japanese-Haitian opponent Naomi Osaka: “Can you just let her win?”
We all watched Serena’s churlish and infantile behaviour on court and we were all shocked. When I saw the cartoon, for the life of me I didn’t tumble that it was in any way problematic. At the time I was wrestling with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Wagga Wagga fiasco.
But the simple joke depicting a squillionaire sports star having a hissy-fit has been seized upon by everyone clambering over each other to plant the flag as the world’s most outraged, denouncing the cartoon as racist and sexist — twisting it into some old-time blackface propaganda and painting Knight as if he were a paid-up sheet-wearing Klansman.
Drawing a long bow, critics have invoked the abhorrent Jim Crow, a racist negro stereotype that appeared in the US about 180 years ago (don’t worry, I had to Google it, too) comparing the Serena cartoon with the pre-Civil War sentiments.
Even Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has gone in all wands blazing: “Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop.”
You see — it’s Mark’s depiction of Serena as a giant, aggressive, Afro-American sporting a shock of wild hair and a tutu that’s caused the outrage — but if I can give JK a heads up, that’s what Serena Williams bloody well looks like.
She’s one of the world’s most instantly recognisable — and bankable — sports stars and her appearance is no accident. She is a brand and even people who know nothing about tennis recognise her in a millisecond.
There’s not much point in drawing caricatures of people if they don’t look like who they’re supposed to be — sure, I can draw Serena as a rather svelte Caucasian male if it succeeds in short-circuiting outrage but you know ... is it really her?
So where do cartoonists go from here?
Perhaps we draw stick figures with a disclaimer: “Due to global offence, this stick figure is only really a guide. Refer to a photograph of Serena Williams if you want to understand the joke.”
WARREN BROWN IS THE EDITORIAL CARTOONIST AT THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Human cost of pandemic goes much further than virus
Whether you are pro or anti-lockdown the grim, unintended consequences of the fixation on coronavirus are undeniable, as other diseases — including cancer and heart disease — go unchecked, and despair from joblessness, poverty and financial stress rises, writes Rita Panahi.
Premier must outline his plan so Melbourne can recover
As the community overwhelmingly complies with the Premier’s stage four restrictions, he must clearly outline his virus strategy so we can make plans to rebuild confidence and employment in our city, which right now is a ghost town, writes Jeff Kennett.