This cartoon is currently causing quite a stir in both the political realm and the blogosphere (thanks to Sewell C. and Franklin S. for pointing it out):
The question is, is this a racist cartoon? According to the NYT,
The chimpanzee was an apparent reference to the 200-pound pet chimpanzee that was shot dead by a police officer in Stamford, Conn., on Monday evening, after it mauled a friend of his owner.
You can read another account of it at Gawker.
So what is the implication? That the bill is so messed up a chimp must have written it? That he mauled the budget the way he mauled his owner’s friend? Given that the stimulus bill is widely associated with Obama (despite the fact that he, of course, did not write it–a bunch of Congressional staffers and policy geeks did, I suspect), it seems likely that many people will make a jump from the supposed author of the stimulus bill to Obama, meaning the chimp is a stand-in for the President. Is that the cartoonist’s intent? If so, is that intent inherently racist?
Of course, there’s some historical context here. As this post illustrates, there is a long history of Africans and African Americans being portrayed as ape-like, or even as a link between apes and Europeans in the Great Chain of Being. Can we use monkeys as caricatures of African American public figures without bringing some of the old racist overtones along as well?
Again from the NYT:
In a statement, Col Allan, editor in chief of The Post, denied Mr. Sharpton’s assertion that the cartoon was “racially charged.” Mr. Allan said:
The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist.
The cartoon brings up some interesting issues surrounding artistic intent and reader interpretation. The cartoonist may or may not have meant to be in any way drawing on the older association between African Americans and apes. It’s likely that a fair number of readers will interpret the image that way, though, regardless of what the intent might be. Some will laugh and others will be offended at the implication. This gets at the crux of many conflicts over media images, TV shows, etc.: which matters, the stated intent of the creator, or what consumers of the material interpret it to be or what they do with it? And of course, the stated intent of the creator might be a bit disingenuous too; you can certain claim to have no racist intent while using imagery that is very much associated with racism, racial violence, etc.
Anyway, it’s a conversation starter, I guess.
Also, for the record, chimps make bad pets! They’re really strong and have sharp teeth. The live a long time. They reach sexual maturity and get frustrated and aggressive. Just go adopt a dog!
Comments 38
David — February 18, 2009
Col Allen and Sean Delonus' claims are disingenuous! The scribbler (I will not call him an artist) has published previously racist, sexist and homophobic material. He equates homosexuality with bestiality and women are presented as whores and worse. The Post is crap and this cartoon is just another typical example of the newspapers' true editorial bent.
Caricatures Ireland » Sociological Images » NEW YORK POST MONKEY/STIMULUS BILL CARTOON — February 18, 2009
[...] via Sociological Images » NEW YORK POST MONKEY/STIMULUS BILL CARTOON.” [...]
mordicai — February 18, 2009
I blame the editors. I'm willing to say that the authorial intent might be spick-n-span. That in fact there are plenty of non-racist readings. BUT REALLY? The editor didn't go "uh...uh....dude?" when he saw this cartoon?
Franklin Sayre — February 18, 2009
Gawker also has a post of previous comics by the same cartoonists: http://gawker.com/5155855/ten-vile-cartoons-from-sean-delonas
Plenty of offensive stuff here. Not sure about this particular case however.
Posts about Gawker as of February 18, 2009 » The Daily Parr — February 19, 2009
[...] said The Consumerist — which Gawker Media sold to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher NEW YORK POST MONKEY/STIMULUS BILL CARTOON - thesocietypages.org 02/18/2009 This cartoon is currently causing quite a stir in both the political [...]
joy28 — February 19, 2009
Well, people have different perceptions and points of view. Racism or not, the editor and cartoonist have their own explanation. As what they say, let's just give people the benefit of the doubt.
jeff — February 19, 2009
um not sure how it's racist really?
喇遗撒，伯尼塔..layisa » Blog Archive » New York Post Regales Us With Hilarious Dead Chimpanzee Stimulus Comic — February 19, 2009
[...] apes and Europeans in the Great Chain of Being. Can we use monkeys as caricatures of African Read More|||It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself [...]
Umlud — February 19, 2009
In a post that is discussing intent of an artist, why include that almost-throwaway ending to your post? There is a huge amount of public and private work done on the protection of chimpanzees and other great apes, as well as animal rights. Either approach this issue seriously or don't put it in your post in such a backhanded manner -- especially with the content of such a post as this.
Jay Livingston — February 19, 2009
I'm trying to figure out whether I'd think Delonas's cartoons were funny or trenchant even if I agreed with him. I don't think so. But I suppose it depends on whose ox is gored, or whose president is chimped. http://www.bushorchimp.com/
Gwen Sharp, PhD — February 19, 2009
Umlud,
I recently read the book "Nim Chimpsky," which looked at the very sad case of the chimp some researchers used to try to prove that chimps could learn language in the '70s, and then discarded to a very sad life when their research ended without him learning language and they weren't prepared to care for him for 50 more years or so. You might not like the way I put it--it was just a comment I added on, yes--but I was, in fact, quite annoyed that a chimp had to be shot and a human was mauled because someone thought it was a great idea to have a really cool pet that does not, in fact, make a good domestic pet and that the average person is not set up to give a decent life to.
I worked in animal rescue for a while, and I get very frustrated when people chose either wild animals or "exotic" pets like parrots because they think they're cool, without thinking of the implications, and then the animal either leads a dreadful life in a cage or gets moved from household to household as people pass it on once they realize it screams/bites/destroys furniture/etc. My comment that people should just get a dog, or cat, or small domesticated rodent, is meant quite seriously. It will save the people and the animals an enormous amount of misery.
New York Post Chimp Cartoon Compares Stimulus Author To Dead Primate @ 土鳖boss太多了啊…it’s my lucky啊 — February 19, 2009
[...] According to the NYT,. The chimpanzee was an apparent reference to the 200-pound pet chimpanzee Read More|||1) The New York Post had better start explaining things fast. You%26#39;ve seriously undermined [...]
OP Minded — February 19, 2009
Cartoonists comparing Bush to a chimp = funny.
Cartoonists comparing Congress to chimps = racist.
Got it.
Lyn — February 19, 2009
When it comes to credibility over social issues NOBODY should be listening to "Reverend" Al Sharpton. There is NO implied racism in Mr. Delonas' cartoon. I hope no newspaper editorial staff will overreact to the ridiculous uproar over this cartoon. There is no reason to start trying to avoid blacks' sensitivity. Blacks need to get over themselves they and their feelings are just not that important.
It's not a racist cartoon it's a political cartoon. Dissent is not racism damnit.
Gwen Sharp, PhD — February 19, 2009
OP Minded--
Your words, not mine. I simply posted a cartoon that has caused a huge stir and pointed out questions that often come up with trying to decide what an image means--intentions, probable interpretations, etc. There is a social context that exists that means that stereotypes don't mean quite the same thing if you apply them to everyone, because they have more historical baggage for some groups than for others, but what that means about this particular cartoon...that's the question.
On a personal level, if you take out any assumption that it's connecting Obama to a chimp, I find the cartoon just...confusing. The only way in which I can imagine it being politically apt is if it's supposed to imply that the writers of it did about as good a job as a bunch of apes would, but that doesn't seem particularly funny or politically biting.
Ang — February 19, 2009
OP Minded -
That's disingenuous. There's a legacy of images comparing African Americans to monkeys and apes. To insist that it *is* the same, or that it *should* be the same, to compare a white and black person to a chimp is at best, ignorant of the impact this legacy has had on race relations in the U.S. At worst, it's a willful erasure of the effects of American cultural history - one that only serves to perpetuate white privilege.
Peter — February 19, 2009
FYI, the main author of the original stimulus bill was Rep. David Obey (D-WI), a white dude.
As sociologists, it's worth asking, "What would a production of culture perspective say about this cartoon?"
Economic conditions of production: The cartoonist's job is to try to be funny. Given two interpretations of this cartoon, one is funny and the other is not. Assuming the cartoonist takes his job as a cartoonist seriously and tries to do it well, the intent of the artist is obvious. Furthermore, producing racist content puts the artist at serious risk of losing his job. The artist will probably try to avoid this if possible.
The genre: Humor works by making reference to common cultural tropes, like "This job is so simple, any monkey could do it." Furthermore, making a subtle reference to another relevant cultural trope, in this case, a bizarre story about an aggressive chimp that had to be shot and killed, increases the humorous content.
So, given two interpretations of this cartoon, one makes sense sociologically, and the other does not.
The bill is so bad, an angry monkey could have written it = funny = obviously the correct interpretation.
Our black president is inherently inferior to whites and resembles a monkey = not funny = obviously the wrong interpretation.
The claim that this cartoon is racist is based purely on a knee-jerk, surface level reading of the text, omitting any sincere attempt to consider the logic or conditions of media production.
MISSISSIPPI MADAM — February 19, 2009
THE CARTOON IS APPALLING. I AM OUTRAGED, TO SAY THE LEAST. IT IS VIOLENT AND RACIST, TO THE CORE. THE CARTOONIST IS A MONKEY, WHO SHOULD STEP DOWN FROM HIS JOB, AND FIND A TREE TO SWING FROM. THE POST SHOULD SHUT DOWN--WHO NEEDS IT. BOYCOT IT NEW YORKERS!
Elena — February 19, 2009
Seeing the cartoons in the Gawker post linked above, I'm surprised that the cartoonist didn't take the chance to label the chimpanzee with big letters across its belly so we would know who or what it is supposed to represent.
Such a missed opportunity. *rolls eyes*
Otherwise, yeah. Quite disgraceful, all of it.
easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » easyVegan Link Sanctuary, 2009-02-19 — February 19, 2009
[...] Sociological Images: NEW YORK POST MONKEY/STIMULUS BILL CARTOON [...]
OP Minded — February 20, 2009
Gwen, I agree. The cartoon was definitely confusing. I looked at if for a while trying to figure out what the heck he was getting at. I never thought of Obama at all. After a while I assumed he was saying that the stimulus bill was such a mess that a chimp must have written it (but not funny at all).
Further, the whole point about the stimulus is the charge that Pelosi and Reid wrote it and not Obama, so its kind of strange that anyone in a cartoon would suggest Obama was the writer when everyone has talked for three weeks about how he wasn't.
fitzy fitz — February 20, 2009
i could care less about the racial implications (which in my opinion is just black people goingAPEshit over nothing) i just think al sharpton should shut the fuck up and choke on a dick
NEW WORLD ORDER — February 20, 2009
It's not about equal rights....they want special rights!
Bagelsan — February 22, 2009
i could care less about the racial implications (which in my opinion is just black people goingAPEshit over nothing)
...really, why *ever* would people question that racism is dead? 9.9
The bill is so bad, an angry monkey could have written it = funny = obviously the correct interpretation.
Our black president is inherently inferior to whites and resembles a monkey = not funny = obviously the wrong interpretation.
I would argue that the second interpretation is equally valid; isn't laughing *at* someone considered pretty funny too? It's not like all the minstrel shows were genuine appreciations of culture or anything... Mocking is definitely something cartoonists do, and when a cartoon seems to be mocking a man at whom so much racist bullshit has been leveled *using this same racist imagery* it is pretty naive to assume that the cartoonist has only the most innocent intentions. (It's also somewhat odd to assume that cartoons are meant only to be funny --they are often meant to make a point with barely a nod to humor at all.)
Randomm :) — February 23, 2009
It's not racist AT ALL. The cartoonist obviously thinks that the stimulus bill is a bad idea (I agree) and he wants to show that. If you think something is stupid, you'd say it was "written by monkeys." Exactly the point that is expressed here.
I don't want to hear that this is racist because it's NOT.
Uncle tom — February 24, 2009
Its only racist if you are
Lee Camp: How the New York Post Monkey Cartoon Should've Looked | We are the world…我们是世界？ — February 25, 2009
[...] apes and Europeans in the Great Chain of Being. Can we use monkeys as caricatures of African Read More|||The NY Post is playing a very dangerous game with this cartoon that they allowed to be printed. [...]
Lila — February 25, 2009
The cartoonist should be familiar with the power of symbols, since their manipulation is at the core of his job. The symbolic use of chimps for African Americans isn't just historical; it was a problem that came up during the campaign too. Knowing this, a cartoonist who did not intend to be racist would have had two options: find a funnier joke, or establish an internal symbolism within the cartoon making it clear that the ape did not represent President Obama. For instance, if one of the cops were African American, it would establish that African Americans would be portrayed as humans within the cartoon, drawing a clear distinction so that the ape could be seen in a different symbolic light. Since the cartoonist did not do this, I feel like arguing that people are overreacting is bunk. Racism is a real problem in this country, and we need to deal with it. (BTW I'm white, as I'm sure some commenters will care.)
jobey — February 26, 2009
that is verey shamfull and also discracefull
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[...] was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article about the New York Post editorial cartoon scandal. Check it out [...]
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[...] hatred and exploitation. This associations continue to be propagated (e,g., here, here, and here). This week Costco pulled the black “Lil’ Monkey” baby doll from its shelves, along [...]
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[...] police quotes implying that it’s the POTUS? Sociological Images did a post on that – New York Post Monkey/Stimulus Bill Cartoon [...]
Linda — October 31, 2009
WOW
I'm not even American and without reading your text I noticed immediately this was an obvious reference to Obama. Unbelievable.
Anonymous — February 11, 2010
b4l