I wrote two days ago about how important images are -- North Korea: Who Am I To Look At You?. The article from the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars that I referenced there directed our attention to how caricatures may cross the line from commentary on an individual to ethnic stereotype. Consider this example:
"Let's see -- my old man said the top button is to launch and the bottom button is to cancel -- or is it the other way around?" Kim Jong Il caricatured by Don Wright, Palm Beach Post c. 1994 |
Commenting on the cartoon, scholar Robert Perkinson says, "[T]he cartoon not only ridicules North Korea's likely new president Kim Jong Il by exaggerating both his lack of expertise and his perceived menace to the West, but also employs anti-Asian racial stereotypes." (Introduction to "Notes from the Field: The Korean Nuclear Crisis.)
Having been alerted by Perkinson, I notice several things about this cartoon:
* Kim's feet don't reach the ground. (They barely reach beyond the edge of his chair.) This suggests:
* Kim has big glasses and barely visible eyes, i.e. the representation is in no way realistic. Does this reflect:
* Kim can't keep straight the simplest instructions concerning this mechanism. Is this:
I know, it's hard work; we've been looking at images like this for so long without thinking about these questions.
- the physical fact that Kim Jung Il was relatively short (5' 3")
- short stature as a metaphor for youth, in turn a metaphor for inexperience and/or lack of expertise
- infantilization of Asians as a racial stereotype
- short stature as a metaphor for youth, in turn a metaphor for inexperience and/or lack of expertise
- infantilization of Asians as a racial stereotype
* Kim has big glasses and barely visible eyes, i.e. the representation is in no way realistic. Does this reflect:
- reliance upon a long-standing and innocent cartooning convention?
- reliance upon a long-standing and anti-Asian racist cartooning convention?
- reliance upon a long-standing and anti-Asian racist cartooning convention?
* Kim can't keep straight the simplest instructions concerning this mechanism. Is this:
- a dig at his inexperience and/or lack of expertise?
- an anti-Asian racist stereotype, suggesting Asians are too simple to understand machines?
- an anti-Asian racist stereotype, suggesting Asians are too simple to understand machines?
The New Yorker cover for September 18, 2017 is interesting.
The New Yorker, September 18, 2017 |
It is by Eric Drooker and is entitled "Warhead."
What I noticed about this image is that it puts Kim Jong Un on a par with Donald Trump. After months of graphics that made use of what had become a true cultural meme -- Trump's orange mop of hair -- we were now seeing an image saying to us, in effect, "There's another leader that you know just by looking at his hair!" (and, possibly, "Compare to Trump - similar? different? . . . . ")
Using the up/down/level scoring approach that I talked about in yesterday's post, I would give this a "level." If all it were suggesting was "Kim is scary" (i.e. the message implied by the image's title, "Warhead"), then I would rate it "down." But in my opinion the image makes people think.
I'm confirmed in my judgement by comparing it with an earlier New Yorker cover depicting Kim:
The New Yorker, January 18, 2016 |
It is by Anita Kunz and is entitled "New Toys."
Here the questions raised by the Don Wright cartoon come to mind. It seems perfectly legitimate to provide commentary that suggests that a leader lacks the maturity to handle his or her country's military and weapons responsibly. However, I believe it also involves an anti-Asian racial stereotype when an Asian leader is shown as a baby playing with his toys. (Why isn't he shown side-by-side with his US counterpart, also depicted as a child?)
So: between January, 2016, and September, 2017, the story the public has gotten from The New Yorker has progressed from "down" to "level."
At least, if you can judge a nuclear confrontation by its cover . . . .
More:
The US and North Korea: Suspense, Discomfort, Regret
"Denuclearization" - A Graphic to Focus the Mind
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