Political Cartoons and 9/11

In America, 9/11 was an event that affected many aspects of our American lives, including pop culture. From movies to music, even art or architecture, many things changed and reflected our feelings on 9/11. One aspect of pop culture that demonstrated the significant effects 9/11 had on Americans is editorial cartoons, or political cartoons. An editorial cartoon is a brief comic or drawing that is most typically used satirically to criticize or question public policies and politicians (Lewis 2003; Hoffman and Howard 2007; Gallavan, Smith, and Dean 2012); however, in the wake of September 11th, many artists of these cartoons did no such thing. In the period following 9/11, political cartoons were not used to criticize the nation’s leading politicians, such as the president, but rather to commemorate 9/11 and help these artists, and the Americans viewing their work, make sense of the tragedy that was 9/11 (Lewis 2003; Hoffman and Howard 2007; Worcester 2011).

When memorializing 9/11, many artists stuck to three main themes featured in political cartoons. These themes include references to WWII, patriotic symbols, and honoring the heroes and victims whose lives were lost (Lewis 2003; Hoffman and Howard 2007; Worcester 2011). One particular type of WWII reference included comparing the attacks on the World Trade Center towers by Al Qaeda, to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese (Draughton 2001). The similarities are obvious, both were attacks on our domestic front carried out by suicide pilots, and both led to America declaring war; however, this comparison also demonstrates the feelings that the 9/11 attacks brought out in Americans. These attacks led Americans to feel vulnerable in their own homes and work places. An additional WWII comparison featured imagery reminiscent of the famous raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima; however, the armed forces were replaced with the first responders of 9/11, and Iwo Jima replaced by Ground Zero (Hoffman and Howard 2007). Many cartoons also featured patriotic symbols and imagery, consisting of the American bald eagle, Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves, or the Statue of Liberty crying (Plante 2001). In their 2007 piece Representations of 9–11 in Editorial Cartoons, Hoffman and Howard analyze these patriotic images as expressing feelings of “sorrow, rage, dismay, and patriotism,” (Hoffman and Howard 2007, p. 271) indicating America’s unwillingness to accept defeat in these attacks, but the desire to mourn and seek revenge, while prevailing as “America the Brave.” The last sort of cartoon to commemorate 9/11 were the ones which honored the heroes, first responders, and victims who lost their lives on 9/11 (Plante 2001). These cartoons were used to express the mourning sentiment all Americans felt. The artists chose to honor those who, in many ways, died for their country by either being sacrificed by terrorists to punish America, or by trying to save those who were sacrificed. According to M.J. Lewis (2003), political cartoons featuring these themes, instead of the typical satirical ones, showed how “many cartoonists struggled between their inhibitions and their need to express a wholly appropriate outrage,” (p. 70).

While most artists did follow standards of respect, there are certain exceptions which took advantage of 9/11 to criticize the president or certain public policies. The most famous example may be a drawing by artist Mike Marland, which featured President Bush in a plane labeled budget, flying toward two identical towers labeled “social” and “security” (Hoffman and Howard 2007). Backlash from the public shows that Americans greatly disapproved. The White House issued a statement regarding the drawing, and a popular CNN talk show devoted a segment to discussing the cartoon’s appropriateness (Hoffman and Howard 2007). In fact, Marland not only apologized to the public, but destroyed the original image (Hoffman and Howard 2007). Furthermore, the outrage demonstrated over the cartoon shows the common idea of political correctness that artists, and Americans alike, now follow (Hoffman and Howard 2007; Lewis 2003). After witnessing the controversy following Marland’s criticism of Bush, many other political cartoonists may have refrained from making political statements about 9/11, the War on Terrorism, or President Bush to avoid the effects that Marland experienced for doing so.

Political cartoons were used as an aspect of pop culture to help memorialize, honor, and make sense of 9/11. There were a number of cartoonists working and living in New York City, who witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center first hand (Worcester 2011). These artists were affected very personally by these attacks, and it is demonstrated in the many memorializing types of cartoons drawn post-9/11 (Worcester 2011). While political cartoons have generally followed a pattern of being anti-establishment or satire pieces throughout history, many post 9/11 cartoons did not include many critiques of government or policy (Hoffman and Howard 2007; Lewis 2003). Political cartoons have a long history of helping the public, including adolescents (Gallavan, Smith, and Dean 2012), understand and conceptualize current or past events in a way that is easily digestible to the common citizen. Cartoons following 9/11 were no exception to this.

References

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. 2016. http://editorialcartoonists.com

Draughton, Dennis. 2001. Cartoon. September 11. Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/10364/. Accessed September 20, 2016.

Gallavan, N. P., Webster-Smith, A., & Dean, S. S. (2012). Connecting Content, Context, and Communication in a Sixth-Grade Social Studies Class through Political Cartoons. Social Studies, 103(5), 188–191. doi:10.1080/00377996.2011.605644

Hoffman, D., & Howard, A. (2007). Representations of 9–11 in Editorial Cartoons. PS: Political Science and Politics, 40(2), 271–274. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20451943

Lewis, M. J. (2003). Cartooning, Left and Right. Commentary, 116(3), 67–72.

Plante, Bruce. 2001. Cartoon. Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/2894/. http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/2893/. http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/2892/.

Worcester, K. (2011). New York City, 9/11, and Comics. Radical History Review, (111), 139–154. doi:10.1215/01636545–1268758