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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

From article at Fair Observer [fairobserver.com]:

The genre of political cartoons, which includes satire and caricatures, usually conveys editorial commentary on politics and politicians, as well as current events, and plays a vital role in the construction of the political discourse in society. Political cartoons are symbolic illustrations that can also become powerful communicative weapons. They are hugely efficient at transmitting messages and do so in the most economical way. Few words are needed, often coated in witty humor and usually making use of hyperbole and satire in order to question authority and probe social problems.

To some extent, cartoonists nowadays are like modern jesters, like those in the Middle Ages who were allowed to tell the truth to the king without risking their heads being chopped off. The big difference, however, is that cartoonists, unlike those merrymen of yore, are not safe. Many have been threatened and even killed for being considered offensive, such as those who lost their lives in the 2015 attack on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Undeterred, Sri Lanka’s cartoonists have taken on the extremists flaming inter-ethnic conflict on the island.

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