A few laughs

Political cartoons provide a few laughs but, of course, they serve a much greater purpose, to explain or comment on the news and events of the day. They can be uproariously funny, snidely cutting, embarrassingly illuminating. There are great cartoonists across the world and Australia is right up there. Perhaps it's a thing of the culture, but I prefer ours to most others. Except maybe New Scientist or The Economist or sometimes New Yorker. Cartoons also require that you know the topic. The National Library has a large collection of cartoons and I got to their exhibition called Inked. It's arranged in date order, so the early rooms are largely unknown and no understood, at least for me. For me, it starts at Whitlam, although there's some awareness back to Menzies. For others, earlier or later. For Labor Party animals, it's earlier. But I got a good few belly laughs from some of those displayed. But they can be black, too, like Best we forget or Progress. Here are a few. Sadly some other favourites didn't photograph well. Worth a visit to the NLA along with the annual display of best political cartoons downstairs at Old Parliament House.

Inked is a display of political cartoons at the National Library of Australia.

Alt. autopsy

It’s an annual event and it’s another way to view this bleak year in Australian politics. At least this time with a laugh. It’s the exhibition, Behind the lines: the year’s best political cartoons. I first attended this annual event several years back at the National Museum. It’s now (aptly) downstairs at MOAD (Museum of Australia Democracy, or better, Old Parliament House).
To me, MOAD seems an aspirational, Howard-era name. From the time when we honoured the Magna Carta with its own park then casually ignored habeas corpus. (I need a better segue, but it reminds me that I heard serious talk of Aussie exceptionalism on the radio the other day. It’s such an insular and self-congratulatory term. I hope it makes it as a topic for a cartoon next year). There’s always a good deal of mirth at this exhibition, although the tenor of Australia federal politics has been disheartening this year, so it was harder to raise a chuckle for some of the topics. But there were some goodies. I’m trying to decide a favourite between the car sticker showing Gillard’s depressing Parliamentary family (My disfunctional family / Mark Knight, Herald Sun, 21 Feb 2012) or the CEOs and Gillard as the kings with no clothes (Cheap Asian imports / Peter Nicholson, The Australian, 28 Mar 2012) or the journos hanging out for a leadership spill (What the media wants / Fiona Katauskas, Eureka Street, 22 Feb 2012) or a few on the carbon tax (The gold tax / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 31 Jul 2012 and Sausages / Michael Leunig, The Age, 8 Nov 2011) or a primer on becoming a billionaire (How to become a billionaire / Jon Kudelka, The Australian, 6 Sep 2012) or plain packaging (SuperBaccysFragiLegalTacticalSclerosis / David Pope, Canberra Times, 16 Aug 2012) or political fairy-tale-telling (The Magnate of La Mancha / David Pope, Canberra Times, 12 Mar 2012) or a pair by perhaps my favourite cartoonist (excluding my other favourites) First Dog on the Moon, from Crickey (Eat the children of the rich / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 21 Feb 2012 and My last day on Earth / First Dog on the Moon, Crikey, 29 Jun 2012). Oh, and I forgot, there are others… If you can’t get to OPH, it’s all online. An annual Christmas release valve for Australian political junkies. The annual Behind the Lines exhibition of Australian political cartoons was held at the Museum of Australian Democracy in the Old Parliament House.

Behind the lines online

MAD

Cartoon by Jon Kudelka from The Australian, 13 Sep 2011 (published with Jon's permission)

The acronym for the Museum of Australian Democracy is actually MoAD and it’s obvious why. But I’ll use MAD temporarily given MoAD is displaying the Behind the Lines exhibition of Australian political cartoons. BtL is an annual event and I’d seen two previous incarnations at the Museum of Australia (MOA). It’s an unusual exhibition because it’s mirthful and accompanied by frequent chuckles and even belly laughs. It’s also mercifully short, so this is one for anyone. The themes were obvious enough: Julia, Tony, Kevin, animal exports, refugee imports, climate change. I found it interesting that I could guess the source for some cartoons, especially the Daily Telegraph and the West Australian but also occasionally the Australian. Here are some favourites: a mediaeval recounting of carbon disaster / First dog on the Moon (Andrew Marlton) in Crikey; the Devil complaining that “the place hasn’t been the same since we transitioned from fossil fuel to solar” / Philip Somerville in Nexus; a woman wailing over the Tomb of the Unknown Cow / Dean Alston in West Australian; Abbott consoling the homeless man over “Gillard’s class war” / John Spooner in The Age; Gillard’s big picture as a severely undeveloped whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifork in progress / Bill Leak in The Australian. But my vote goes to the cutting simplicity of Gillard turning out the Light(-house) on the Hill because it’s attracting boat people / Jon Kudelka in The Australian. (Thanks to Jon for his permission to publish the cartoon).

View Behind the Lines and vote for your favourite

BtL didn’t take long so we wondered around Old Parliament House. It’s a sparse but fascinating visit, especially if you remember significant events and the building on TV. We sat in Senate and House seats (I was particularly amused to see the MPs’ benches had inkwells), marvelled at the tiny offices (the Secretary of PM&C shared his small office with the stationery cupboard!) and visited the various party rooms and the PM’s suite, but the most interesting was a session in the actual Cabinet room where we played at being ministers and argued over whether to bring the troops home in 1941. Megan and I knew what happened and we approved of the decision (Curtin brought the troops home from Europe/Africa against the wishes of Churchill and Roosevelt and they soon defeated the Japanese on the Kokoda Track) but it was news for some others and a lively debate ensued. I certainly don’t envy our pollies who have to make decisions of this magnitude and complexity. We should thank our lucky stars that they get it as right as they do. MOAD is a small and relaxed museum but the building has history oozing from its walls.

The annual Behind the Lines exhibition of Australian political cartoons was held at the Museum of Australian Democracy in the Old Parliament House.