This, quite frankly, is brilliant:
Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way, for the above cartoon – the work of Kip Lyall, a brilliant illustrator about whom I'm delighted to be learning more – has been forwarded my way through various media more times than I can count today.
And for good reason: aside from the obvious metaphorical machinations that shine, there are subtle details in this cartoon that are just plain smart. Such as transforming the media into a collection of tainted, coma-inducing apples that lull the middle class into its perpetual slumber. Or transforming the one percent into the evil Queen – camouflaging herself as a harmless, innocent hag who would like the world to believe she is interested only in the public good.
Yes, the cartoon is brilliant, in my view. And Lyall – the cartoonist – unsurprisingly has many more offerings worthy of being viewed by as many eyeballs as possible. Below are three of what I consider to be his best.
I hope you appreciate them as much as I do:
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Author's Note 1:
Kip Lyall, the artist who crafted the above cartoons, also does amazing design and illustration work. You can see all his wares on his website, and see additional cartoons on his blog.
Author's Note 2:
A word about the sexist nature of the Snow White story: absolutely, it is. The entire Disney man-as-hero dynamic is sexist. However, that fact doesn't take away from the metaphor that is being employed here.
In fact, I'd argue that this cartoon is subverting that sexism by inverting the expected roles as well as transforming the somewhat mundane myth into an important description of our current state.