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free expression

Are we really Charlie?

January 8, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – January 8, 2015

This morning, after a day of reading the news and world reaction to the bloody attack on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, my emotions as a fellow editorial cartoonist continue to be mixed with sadness, anger, and worry. France is a nation that prides itself in its history and tradition of advancing modern democratic principles.  For people to be assassinated for merely expressing themselves under the basic protections enshrined in constitutions and typified in similar charters throughout the western world is jarring and worrisome to everyone in the field of producing satire.

In Solidarity with Charlie Hebdo

In today’s full page spread in the Globe & Mail

Charlie Hebdo delivers a very different breed of satire than what audiences in the mainstream media are served up, especially here in North America. In general, the boundaries that cartoonists work with are far broader in Europe than they are here. In some respects, cartoonists working in the developing world may be forbidden to criticize their politicians, but are given more liberty to go after religion and other sacred cows that would cause tremendous outrage here in North America. At the gutsy Charlie Hebdo magazine, among many of the social targets sought after are any kind of radicalized, conservative, or orthodox religion. Many of the cartoons are illustrative of and perfectly represent the same radical oral messages everyday normal people have in everyday water cooler conversations in any western civilization, yet they’ll never make it to print.

While I worry about what happens next in a France full of tensions between free expressionist defenders and an agitated community of Muslim community and immigrants, I can’t help but think of the chilling effect this particular incident will have on worldwide satire in general. While the silver lining in this tragedy is a refresher course on the value and importance of free expression and the fraternal declaration of “Je suis Charlie”, I worry about the sustainability of my craft.

Here at the Hamilton Spectator, I’m proud to be part of a line of great editorial cartoonists, and I love what I do. However, the hard truth about mainstream media in North America is that we are NOT Charlie. While some argue that running free expressionist cartoons of any degree of offence is a representation of a mature civilized state, we have to remember that society is and always will be made up of a mix of progressive and barbaric people. Freedom of expression therefore needs to be delicately balanced, and I can only hope that eventually the barbarians get crushed. Only then, can we boldly declare, “Je suis Charlie”.

Daryl Cagle Cartoonists index

Brian Gable on the importance of free expression

Globe & Mail Gallery of cartoons in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo

Hamilton Spectator storify 

Posted in: Cartooning, International Tagged: cartoonists, Charlie Hebdo, commentary, Editorial Cartoon, editorial cartooning, free expression, free speech, Globe and Mail, jihadist, liberty, terrorism

Friday, December 19, 2014

December 18, 2014 by Graeme MacKay
Friday, December 19, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, December 19, 2014

Sony Pulls The Interview After Threats

Sony Pictures Entertainment canceled the planned Christmas Day release of The Interview on Wednesday after an unknown person or group threatened to attack theaters that played the film. Sony’s decision comes after several major theater chains backed out of showing the film in light of the threats.Friday, April 5, 2013“We are deeply saddened by this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees and the American public,” Sony said in a statement. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”Monday, April 15, 2013The threats, which warned of 9/11-style attacks against theaters showing The Interview, may have come from the same people responsible for hacking Sony Pictures late last month. Thousands of Sony employees’ emails and personal data have been posted online as a result of the hack, and Sony is still reeling from its effects.

It isn’t yet clear who hacked Sony or threatened the theaters, though some analysts have pointed fingers at North Korea. Pyongyang is furious over The Interview, a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco about TV journalists asked to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But no clear link to North Korea has been established, and the government has denied responsibility for the hack. (Source: Time Magazine)

Posted in: International Tagged: Cyber-terrorism, Entertainment, free expression, Hollywood, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Sony

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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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