Drawn into the debate
IT’S a different world being a newspaper cartoonist today than when Harry Bruce delivered his first hand- drawn cartoon on his pushbike three decades ago.
Back then, if someone took offence at your satirical scrawls on the opinion page of the local rag, they would have to go to the effort of penning a letter to the editor and sending it via snail mail, “or cross the street to talk to you about it face- to- face”.
“Now, people can sit on the computer and tweet from thousands of miles away in America and beyond and everyone seems to be more aggressive or nastier than the one before,” Mr Bruce laments.
Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight has been the subject of worldwide controversy after his drawing of tennis great Serena Williams showed her stomping on her racket, dummy on the ground and her “exaggerated physical appearance” was criticised by many as being racist.
The Melbourne cartoonist has reportedly received death threats and has security stationed outside his home, as outrage grows and international celebrities join the cho- rus of critics. When Mr Bruce first saw the cartoon on Mr Knight’s Facebook page the night before publication, his first thought was: “Geez, I wish I’d done that”.
“I thought it was funny. It summed up what happened perfectly, but now I’ve got second thoughts,” Mr Bruce said.
“But I honestly didn’t see ( it as racist) when I saw it.
“I thought it was bloody hilarious and he obviously didn’t have that intention.”
Controversy aside, who is Mr Bruce’s favourite subject to draw?
“George is brilliant; I love George,” he says without missing a beat, referring to Dawson MP George Christensen.
Mr Bruce says he’s rarely had a complaint from any of the pollies he’s drawn, among the six cartoons a day he produces for News Corp publications from Cairns to Rockhampton, including the Townsville Bulletin.
“The politicians don’t really care if you draw something that offends them,” he said.
“Warren Entsch ( Leichhardt MP) buys every cartoon I’ve ever done of him whether it’s flattering or not … and George has bought a few too and a lot of those ( could be seen as) very insulting.”