Hidden Treasures: The Socio-political Cartoons of Winsor McCay

Winsor McCay, cartoonist and animator died in 1934 but he set the standard in animated movie making that others, including Walt Disney, were duty bound to follow.

He was also well known for his newspaper comic strips, Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo in Slumberland. However, his socio-political cartoons have been somewhat overlooked, perhaps because of the success of his strips and animations.

Here is a selection of those cartoons from the years 1929 and 1930 – in some ways very similar to our own. 80 years may separate the days the cartoons were drawn but has so much really changed? Image Credit Flickr User Anna Jumped

Image Credit Alan Light

The debate still rages today (both at home and abroad) about US interventionist policies in other countries.  At the end of the 20s isolationism - almost the opposite - took a significant hold on both the people and the politicians.  The crash of '29 made the country more inward looking and determined to fix its own problems rather than interfere with those overseas.  For McKay, who spent the last eight years of his life at The American newspaper creating editorial cartoons for Arthur Brisbane, his flair for cartoons put him in the right place at the right time. His job was to engage the reader’s eye and so persuade them to read the editorial. As such he was to tackle many of the social issues of the day, including the economy, prohibition and human nature in general.

Alternative Math: A Visit to Post-Truth America

An experienced maths teacher runs in to more than a little trouble when she tries to correct a student who has failed his recent math test.  What should have been a quiet moment of teaching and learning turns in to a traumatic week-long hell on earth for the teacher: She may have a trick or two up her sleeve but what chance does she have against Tommy, his parents, the principal, the school board and the media?

All satire exaggerates and Alternative Math has hyperbole in spades.  The premise is ridiculous but it resonates because it has its roots well and firmly dug in to the truth – whatever that may be in 2023.  We may have breathed a sigh of relief decades ago when 1884 became 1985 and there was little sign of Orwell’s dystopian vision coming to life.  Yet a few decades later, Alternative Math highlights, through comedy, the insidious nature of what truth means today.  George would have recognized the scenario all too well.

What makes it a little depressing is the fact that as a teacher this resonates a little too familiarly with me. The exaggeration in the film aside I have colleagues who have been through a form of what happens in this short albeit without the ending we have here (and it is worth the nine minutes of this short just to get to that point, believe me!).  It may be close to home but I am happy it's here.

Alternative Math is brought to you by Dallas-based Ideaman Studios and was written by Malcolm Morrison and David Maddox, with the latter doing the directing honors.  Well, that is if you believe the end credits are truthful, of course…

Werner the Vampyre

If you are familiar with Ann Rice’s novels then you are probably aware that being a vampire does come with issues all its own. For many vampires, being so long lived (if that is the correct way to describe the centuries they may exist) has its burdens and one is that they often fail to move with the times and discover that the era in which they now exist is meaningless to them.  Some vampires find this an almost impossible hurdle to overcome.

So it is with Werner (played wonderfully by Tom Micklem) in this very funny short comedy from Chris Boyle, a director based in London.  Werner (who has more than a little of the Lestat about him) has lived through many ages of man and the twenty first century is something he cannot quite deal with.  However, when he does discover a way to thrive in our electronic era he sets about it with typical vampiric gusto.  Chris Boyle obviously has an in depth knowledge if not a love for the genre he is gently satirising here as Werner the Vampyre is full of undead tropes, (devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations). Werner the Vampyre not so quietly lampoons a category of film fiction here that has, at any rate, been disappearing up its own, ahem, jugular, for a number of years.

Dark Day - Very Cool Pastiche of Nuit Blanche

A couple of years ago Spy Films came up with the remarkable and ground-breaking Nuit Blanche.  Well it may have taken a few years but a thing of beauty needs to be satirized just a little.  This, at least, was what a group of students at Utah Valley University felt (and rightly so, as it happens).  Standing directly opposite the White Night, here is the Dark Day. 

One gets the feeling that the students did not have quite the same budget as Spy Films but nevertheless they acquit themselves admirably.  Not only have they produced a pastiche which in many ways is remarkably faithful to the original they have led me back to it (below).  And it’s still awesome.

Evening Standrd Posters - Anonymous, Satirical and Crafty

Image Credit Flickr User gruntzooki

Over recent weeks a number of satirical posters for the London Evening Standrd have been appearing throughout the English capital. They reflect the political climate with some satire - as well as some being just for fun. So far the persons involved have failed to put their hands up and claim responsibility. To paraphrase Many Rice-Davies, Well, they would do that, wouldn't they?


The above is our favorite by a long chalk.  It announces that the US government has announced that Wikileaks have Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).  Of course, we all remember the last time that the US said that...

Image Credit Flickr User gruntzoki

The above is a reference to the recent student protests cum riots which happened after the UK's coalition governments announced a potential tripling of student university fees, meaning that in a few years graduates may well leave education with a £27,000 debt saddle around their necks.  Perhaps if the police hadn't left the sweets in their riot vans the violence could have been avoided.

Image Credit Flickr User johnny2love

As an aside, the real deal, the London Evening Standard is a 180 odd year old newspaper with something (ahem) of a conservative nature.  Last year it changed its business plan meaning that for the first time in its history it was given out for nothing.  The newspaper vendors, part of the iconic look, sound and feel of late afternoon London, went the way of the Dodo.  Which was a shame.

Image Credit Flickr User gruntzooki

The Standrd does, much like its almost namesake, keep an eye on society hatches, matches and dispatches.  So every now and again there is good news.

Image Credit Flickr User gw1

Although we suspect that it may not be the same people, perhaps the latest perpetrators of satire against the media took their inspiration from an exhibition a few years ago which did a very similar thing.  Although we cannot remember the name of the artist (answers on a postcard) we did manage to find the picture above.

Med Men

The scene, the AMC offices, 2006. Producer Matthew Weiner is attempting to sell his idea for a new series to a TV executive. Set in the 1960s the show will center around the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency on Madison Avenue, New York City. The lead character will be a creative director at the firm, Don Draper.

The TV Exec shrugs. “Well Matt, we love your idea, but we would like to see a few changes before we give your project the green light. First, we like the idea of an advertising agency but feel that the audience will be more receptive to the show being set in a hospital – St Cooper’s perhaps. We love the Don Draper character but feel that Dr Don would be a much better fit in our vision."

On the whim of a TV Exec, out goes Sterling Cooper and in comes St Cooper’s with Doctor Don Draper at the helm.

And so Med Men was born. After all, it only takes a syllable.  Cue new opening titles.

If you want to do a frame by frame comparison - the original is below...

Pesky Pirates - Very Funny Star Trek Spoof

Subtitled The Continuous Franchise, this Star Trek spoof is one that rewards patience - after the opening credits (and you adjust to the voices!) then you are in for a treat. The story? Kirk, Spock et al are ordered by the Federation to intercept an enemy vessel. Their brief is to stop internet piracy and to do this they must ensure that the aliens sever their wireless connection and surrender their hard drive. Unfotunately Kirk is rather too fond of streaming videos than he should be.

Hilarity ensues.  Twilight, Heroes, and Titanic, N-Sync, Rick Astley and Desperate Housewives are among the many icons to receive name checks here.  It's an adventure the crew of the Enterprise never actually enjoyed - but one you wish they had.

OK, the voices get better - and we loved the one liner from Uhura.  As you might imagine there were a number of people involved in this project, Derek Sellens seems to be the ring leader (as it were!) - he is a writer and Director from Kansas who also does a lot of Visual Effects.Mr Sellens and your cohort we salute you.  Live long and prosper!

We should perhaps point out too that the video contains a few moments that, strictly speaking are not safe for work. But hey, I'm European - I have an open mind!