Association of American Editorial Cartoonists will be hosting a political cartoon festival in conjunction with their annual convention in September. The Festival is entitled “#!&% CARTOONS!! A Festival Celebrating the Political Cartoon” and runs Sept. 14th & 15th at George Washington University. Special guests of the festival include François Mouly, Bob Staake and Steve Brodner.
From the beginning of our country’s history up to today, cartoons have played an important role in U.S. political life. Paul Revere and Ben Franklin roused the rabble with cartoons, leading a revolution. Since then, political cartoons have called us to defend the nation from foreign foes and defend our freedoms from domestic forces. They make us stop and think — and maybe stop and laugh.
As journalism figures out how to survive the shift to the light speed and micro-news cycles of the digital age, one small corner is adapting and even flourishing. Political cartoons, though as old as newspapering itself, are perfect for to the hyper speeds and truncated attention spans of today’s media consumers.