Thursday 29 April 2010

Political cartoons

With the latest election gaffe dominating the news stories, now seemed like a good time to mention some sites of use for examining political cartoons and humour.
Of course most of the main Uk newspapers have their own resident cartoonists who have posted materials online.
Some well-known examples are
Matt Cartoons from the Telegraph
Steve Bell from the Guardian
The Tribune Magazine also has its own site devoted to political cartoons
Likewise weekly satirical magazine Private Eye regularly contains recent examples
However, a feature of this election has also been the use of mashup technology by satirists to mash together and create new comic examples of spoof election materials. Channel 4 has a useful discussion of this with links to some major examples.
These include the famous http://www.mydavidcameron.com/ which has been run by opponents of the Conservative Party and features lots of examples of mock tory posters "airbrushed for change".
However, if you are seeking serious academic sites for the study of political Cartoons ones you shouldnt miss include
The Political Cartoon Society which has a historical overview of the development of political cartoons as a medium of political communication and a gallery of some images.
The Cartoon Archive at the University of Kent has an enormous collection of historical respurces covering all issues. Its catalogue enables you to view many examples online. They make fascinating comparisons with the materials being produced in 2010. Take a look at this example from the evening news in 1964 - in which a discussion group suggestions the leaders have a 15 minute round with cthe winner taking on Cassius Clay. Good advice today perhaps in advance of the last televised leaders debate!

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