Climate Change Depictions in Editorial Cartoons

Esben Bjerggaard Nielsen and Felix Kühn Ravn 7 “This will all be yours – and under water”: Climate Change Depictions in Editorial Cartoons Abstract: This chapter examines how climate change as both a series of physical processes and a political debate is satirically depicted in editorial cartoons. We contend that climate change poses a challenge for satire due to the complexities of the issue. The chapter focuses on different ways in which editorial cartoons as a genre may present different exigencies and policy positions by means of humor that skewers its satirical target. In the chapter we present a range of argumentative themes such as “Consequences”, “Capitalism”, “Ridiculing the Deniers” and “Against Climate Activ- ism” that are prevalent in American editorial cartoons. These themes are based on the study of a large body of such cartoons. The analyses of the chapter work from a genre angle in order to detail the social motives and formal intricacies of editorial cartoons in relation to the topic of climate change. This in turn leads to an argument that editorial cartoons, dealing with the topic of climate change, navigate between specific and more general contexts. Although the interventional or activist potential of editorial cartoons can be called into question, they may be able to promote explicit human angles on the all too often invisible processes of climate change. 7.1 Introduction As general anticipation for the COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen ramped up during the last months of 2009, so did attention from political satirists. It was within this context that USA Today posted a now famous cartoon by Joel Pett, in which the summit is interrupted by a heckling politician exclaiming, “what if this is a hoax and we create a better world for nothing?” (Pett, 2009). Whilst timely in its humor, skew- ering one of the top news items of the day with satirical precision, Pett’s cartoon also gained an afterlife that went far beyond the specific context of COP15. The cartoon was widely shared online. Furthermore, the joke about creating a better world for nothing proved its mettle over time, and began to appear in wholly new contexts and configurations – signed copies at the EPA, on protest signs, and even as a mural on a garage (Pett, 2012). This tension between original and subsequent contextual usage is made possible by the satirical depiction of the fractious and polarized debate over climate change – one that is often put into the purview of “serious” genres with sci- entific or policy credentials (Nielsen, 2017; Spoel, Goforth, Cheu & Pearson, 2008; Stahl, 2011). However, Pett’s cartoon seems to have struck a chord beyond the initial chuckle and, indeed, illustrates a more general public notion of politicians dragging © 2020 Sune Auken and Christel Sunesen This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Satirical Cartoons – a Potent Genre 130 their feet on the matter of climate change. Although it gained an unexpected fame, Pett’s cartoon is also an example of a typical American editorial cartoon. In this chapter, we focus on how climate change as a phenomenon and as a political debate is depicted in American editorial cartoons. While political satire may present humorous interpretations of various political and social issues, climate change is challenging to satire, because it is both complex (at times highly technical) and exigent. As the example with Pett illustrates, editorial cartoons may negotiate tension between specific and general contexts, rely on the polarization of the overall debate, and promote explicit human angles. Our enquiry seeks to understand how this established satirical genre deals with a specific complex issue. Based on a col- lected corpus we present analyses of a range of argumentative themes employed in editorial cartoons that depict climate change. These analyses will be based on a prior established genre-overview, detailing the social motives and formal intricacies of editorial cartoons. 7.2 Satirical Cartoons – a Potent Genre As mentioned, the enquiry of this chapter focuses on how climate change is repre- sented within the specific genre of editorial cartoons rather than a generic description of editorial cartoons as a genre. However, we note that different scholars have regarded satirical cartoons as a genre (Bal, Pitt, Berthon & DesAutels, 2009; Baumgart- ner, 2008; Geipel, 1972; Harrison, 1981; Kjeldsen, 2015). While designating something a genre, does not necessarily make it so – as Carolyn Miller has illustrated – it does lend credence to the pursuit of enquiry into climate change representation through a genre lens and by extension a genre description of editorial cartoons (Miller, 1984, 163). Indeed, when looking at the history of editorial cartoons, scholars have noted several antecedent genres (Jamieson, 1975). Such antecedents not only provide a sense of the historical developments or evolution of a genre, but also highlight inher- ited constraints that may still have contemporary relevance. Thus, the word cartoon derives from the late 16th century Italian word cartone (from the Latin word carta), which used to describe an artist’s simple first sketch of a work. While no longer con- fined to the space of the artist’s atelier, cartoons are still generally perceived as for- mally simple drawings (Lamb, 2004). Although drawn caricatures have been used throughout history, contemporary forms of satirical (editorial) cartoons as a “self- enriching genre” mainly grew out of an Anglophone context in 18th and 19th century Britain and America respectively (Geipel, 1972, 11; Harrisson, 1981, 72). Cartoonists such as William Hogarth and Thomas Nast were notable in their time for using cartoons rather than words to launch quite successful campaigns against both corrupt politicians and mindless good taste. With this history in mind, it is important at this point to note that editorial cartoon distinguishes itself from news satire (as seen in the previous chapter). Editorial cartoons have both different generic antecedents and 131 “This will all be yours – and under water”: Climate Change Depictions in Editorial Cartoons work through a different media and formal expression. The difference is also one of material context. Editorial cartoons are historically part of a larger news publication (i.e. the editorial pages of a paper), and thus physically border on non-satirical news genres such as editorials or op-eds. However, the cartoon does not itself try to emulate or pass itself off as a mock-up of any such genre, rather it is contingent on its material and discursive delineation on the page. The contemporary perspective of this chapter means that we shall not expound the history of cartoons further (for more on this see for example Geipel, 1972; Keane, 2008; Lamb, 2004). However, we note that the antecedent forms, from which contemporary editorial cartoons emerged, imbue the genre with certain motives and attitudes. Miller’s original conception of genre not only rests on notions of function and context, but also on motive (1984, 152) – a term she borrows from Kenneth Burke. To Burke any set of symbolic actions rest on specific motives that are then tied to underlying attitudes toward the larger world (Burke, 1969, 20). Within this context, editorial cartoons are an example of how genre becomes a site of negotiation between private and public motives or attitudes. This can be seen by the relative autonomy of the individual cartoonist with regard to choices of subject matter and visual style compared to certain generic constraints, regarding the overall expres- sions of social attitudes that mark the genre (Jamieson, 1975; Plug, 2013). Several scholars note the absurdity and caustic tone often associated with satirical cartoons. Indeed, one should not forget nor underestimate the “punch” in punchline, when dealing with editorial cartoons. The humor of satirical depiction is not only directed at a specified target, but also expresses specific attitudes towards said target. Geipel notes that an editorial cartoon acts as “a potent weapon of ridicule, ideal for deflating the pompous and the overbearing, exposing injustice and deriding hypocrisy” (1972, 10). Despite their seemingly innocent humor, editorial cartoons thus exhibit attitudes of suspicion and social indignation both towards the satirical target and the larger social system. There seems to be an overall agreement between scholars that editorial cartoons are marked by an underlying motive of challenging the status quo (Lamb, 2004, 41; Walker, 2003, 10; Barshay, 1977, 57). Indeed, social critique and attacks on established political figures, tribes or discourses may take precedence over witticism as a defining characteristic of the genre. The tendency in editorial cartoons of mixing humorous caricature with caustic satire of power and hypocrisy illustrates how humor can perform a social regulatory function. According to Billig (2005) “Everyday codes of behaviour are protected by the practice of embarrassment. If one infringes expected codes of interaction, particu- larly if one does so unwittingly, one might expect to be embarrassed” (201). Editorial cartoons as well as other types of satire (for example news satire) fulfill exactly this social action of pointing out transgressions against codes of conduct and by exposing the hypocrisy of named persons or groups in power. Inducing laughter is thus not an innocent goal, but a key rhetorical strategy. This can be seen in the reliance on caricature as a mode of expression, as it relates the physical features of the satirical target to the nature of their transgression. Drawing George W. Bush as a big-eared Satirical Cartoons – a Potent Genre 132 school boy, which many cartoonists were wont to do, was as much a comment on his perceived ineptness as on his appearance. The limits of acceptability of such prac- tices are dictated by the social context – satire may therefore struggle against either long or short term “humor regimes” that implicitly regulate who can joke about what (Kuipers, 2011).

Load more