Discussions of the Cities and Global Worlds in Cartoons and Visual Graphics - Essay Example

How do cartoons or similar visual graphics offer discussions of the cities and global worlds? Fantasy and fiction are highly ive, depend so much on the imagination and bias of the creator. As there is no obligation to obey facts the fiction writer can distort reality or sometimes even create one. Film, television, comics, magazines and cartoons/animation have unlimited dimensions. Their creators play with their imagination creating, portraying or distorting reality through pencil and paper. Graphic designing, cartoons and animations have taken fiction to a whole new level. A story gives the reader the leverage to imagine, cartoons on the other hand restrict the imagination by defining its boundaries. No matter how fantastical cartoons are, they always represent some version/representation of reality. Towns and cities are the perfect subjects for art fantasy. Diverse characters actions and situations come together so that they can be given expressions to portray creators’ ideas. Modern technology (computer graphics) contribute to this niche immensely. Distorting reality can be comprehensively achieved through graphics. Printing a cartoon strip, animated cartoons in movies and video games, all serve this purpose. Frank Millers cartoon such as Sin City portrays several terrains of the ‘city’; Projects, The Old Town and the Docks (Solesbury 94). The videogame Grand Theft Auto gives the players a chance to be criminal in ‘cities’ like New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami (Solesbury 94). They are not exact copies of real cities but similarities are sufficient. Cartoons are usually created for humoristic purposes. They are specifically popular among children but they are equally popular among adults when they portray a distortion of reality like the ones in newspapers. Such cartoons deliver sarcasm poke fun at society. Comic strips in newspapers lighten up the mood. All humor, pranks and comic strips are eventually satire on common sense hierarchies of meanings (Oncu 98). Cartoon humor usually begins by considering the norms that feed the reality. They understand what is order and predictable. By juxtaposing the frames of references the humorist exposes the impurity. It gives the artist the leverage to blur the hierarchical impositions of order so laughter can ensue (Oncu 98). This is not specific to a specific city. From an anthropological perspective the study of cartoons as depicting social dynamics in a particular region is of high importance. For instance in Turkey the urbanization gives the cartoonists the leverage to poke fun at the situation when people start acting in funny patterns. For instance haciaga appeared in the graphic scene of Istanbul in 1940s (Oncu 98). This term is referred to a breed which is wealthy but with no cultural capital. The cultural specificity of this breed has its roots in fake piousness (Oncu 98). The term -aga refers to traditional landlords that inherit a lot of wealth and power (Oncu 98). The prefix haci- means he has performed his religious obligation of pilgrimage to Mecca; a religious duty obligatory to only wealthy Muslims (Oncu 98). This cartoon has a huge body with double chin, wearing baggy pants and loose clothes. His wife is also plump and wears fancy but uncomfortable clothes. She needs to display the family wealth on her body. Haciaga1 Similarly in the 1980s Turkish Arabesk culture gave fresh ideas to young graphic artists. In cartoons the Arabesk culture is depicted as impure, hybrid and a bricolage (Oncu 98). The cartoonists of the 1980s had the chance of multiple connotations for labeling the Arabesks. For instance in cartoon strips a family is shown where the young generation ignores the servant who could be a transvestite (Oncu 98). This is a unique representation of different influences of 1980s Turkey. The same fusion of cultures ethnicities and norms is also evident in Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam. The city is distinctive but has many characteristics of typical African cities. The majority of cartoons focus on Dar es Salaam and the illustrators articulate the images of the metropolis (Solesbury 16). The city in cartoons is a place where they can find foreign commodities, Western behavior and fashion (Solesbury 16). This is comparable to the condition in Istanbul. An urban setting brings individuals into a social network of people, ethnicities, products and institutions. The citizens find themselves interacting with each other and with several members of the classes, from the rich to the poor. For instance a cartoon offers a story showing a pompous urban women being tricked by a con artist (Solesbury 16). The woman humiliates her husband to drive him away so she can be with the con artist. She yells that she can raise the child on her own without her husband. The trickster peeks from behind the door while the rest of the crowd shows mixed feelings. Some are surprised while others are amused. The clothes represent characters. The more traditionally dressed people are not pleased with her insulting her husband, while people dressed in Western clothes are in fact laughing. Con Artist fooling a Good Time Girl2 The story ends when the woman finds out that the con artist has only two dollars (Solesbury 16). The cartoon represents the state of the city where hunger, promiscuousness and trickery is the norm (Solesbury 16). Such are the negative images of urban society portrayed in Tanzanian cartoons. China has always been a closed society under communist rule. Cartoons defying authority is an exception rather than rule. Most Chinese cartoons were never direct in criticizing imperialism or political incompetence (Lent 155). Despite these restrictions 1955 proved to be a good year for Chinese cartoons especially in Singapore (Lent 155). Selection of Woodcuts and Cartoons was a landmark book in the history of Chinese cartoons. Ho Kah Leong and Ong Shih Cheng were its editors (Lent 155). This was a first of its kind cartoon focusing on the experience of local living, moral issues, values, colonial society and education system in China. In an interview Ho said that during the 1950s cartoons were reflecting the concerns of society (Lent 155). He and his partner were looking to complete the book because both of them were determined that a social need existed for developing the community through arts (Lent 155). Aesthetics is always a good way of dealing with the issues of the day. The origin of ideas is as important as studying the cartoons themselves. It gives them the context crucial in understanding the trend of cartoons in Chinese society. The link between politics and cartoons was strong from the beginning, evident in cartoons that first appeared in Singapore in 1907. By 1930s Chinese cartoons were considered an art form that could be used to serve the needs of the people (Lent 156). Cartoonists were seen as activists introducing ideas of Lu Xun and his social realistic works to a new generation of cartoonists and other artists (Lent 155). The principal of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts stressed on graduation ceremony that “the purpose of art should not be anything beyond and above social realities” (Lent 155). This is the role of art that expresses the needs of people and it was one of the six stated objectives of the Academy. After the war when the Academy was reopened this remained as one of the primary objectives of the school. The principle was repeated in the introductions of several graduation ceremonies through 1940s and 50s. A famous cartoon known as “Bridge Building” by an unknown artist who used a pen name of Shidaipao in 1956 shows the building of a steel bridge by Singapore Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock and future prime minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman (Lent 159). This represented support cross-straits cooperation in the fight against colonialism. This image was quite the opposite of the Chinese chauvinists and it arose due to concern for Chinese education and culture (Lent 159). These cartoonists were Malayans who believed in political future of Singapore and Malaysia as one as opposed to Chinese imperialistic plans. Building Bridge 3 The Chinese cartoonists of 1950s were part of anti-colonial movement and supported the strongest contenders of their time – the PAP, the leader of anti-colonial forces (Lent 161). The interests of these cartoonists were aligned with the English educated leadership of the political party (Lent 159). Singapore had a Chinese dominated society and was perceived as ‘Little China’, at the doorstep of my life Malaya. As historical events shifted so did the nature of cartoons. Tunku’s change of mind in 1961 resulted in a split within PAP. It polarized the cartoonists that supported the party. There was more inventiveness evident by the cartoonists who fused the 1950s social concerns of morality with the challenges against political legitimacy of PAP. Barisans cartoonists questioned the masculinity of the Lee Quan Yew, saying that he was not man enough; Loyal Harry4 Cartoons discuss so much that it is impossible encompass everything within such a small paper. They capture reality, distort it, create it, recreate it, portray the moods of people, make fun of politicians, paint the demeaning social values in sarcasm. However, they are highly subjective to the bias of the creators. Unlike stories, they leave little to the imagination and tell it exactly how it is pictured in the mind of cartoonists. And despite being opinionated or fantastical that thought always has its origin in reality. References Lent, John A. Southeast Asian Cartoon Art: History, Trends and Problems. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. Print. Oncu, Ayse. "Istanbulites and Others: The Cultural Cosmology of Being Middle Class in the Era of Globalism." Istanbul: Between the Global and the Local. By Çağlar Keyder. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. 95-119. Print. Solesbury, William. World Cities, City Worlds: Explorations with Metaphors, Icons and Perspectives. Leicestershire: Metador, 2013. Print. Read More