News

Bruce MacKinnon, the Herald’s award winning political cartoonist, stopped by Dalhousie University on September 25th, to talk about the trials and tribulations of editorial cartooning. “Cartoons and Comics” (English 2080) aims to give students a history of the medium of comics before going on to look at modern forms, such as current political cartooning and the graphic novel.

MacKinnon was very comfortable in front of the crowd of over 70 eager students, whose questions didn’t let up the entire time. After giving credit to his mentors: the late Bob Chambers, his much celebrated predecessor at the Herald, Terry Mosher of the Montreal Gazette, and Roy Peterson, whose graphic designs in the Vancouver Sun and Maclean’s were for MacKinnon’s experience “unparalleled,” MacKinnon went on to describe how these cartoonists inspired him to do the same. “Canada has a great tradition of political cartooning,” he added.

Students were interested in his daily routine and his sources of inspiration. MacKinnon arrived at 6:30, having just finished a cartoon about the ongoing Blackberry saga for a 5:30 deadline.  “The hardest part of the job is to create a visual connection with the issue.” Slides of MacKinnon’s work were shown as a backdrop while he spoke.  A class favorite showed George W. Bush, (admittedly one of MacKinnon’s “favorite targets”) drawn as a monkey holding two ends of a chain, one link states “Iraq” the other “Al-Qaeda.” Bush himself is labeled: “The Missing Link.”  Brevity, both visually and textually, was advocated as the soul of the editorial cartoonist’s wit.

MacKinnon expressed the importance of not saying too much and not making the image too busy. “I will often remove things like office furniture or plants from a room, to keep the focus on the figures.”

When asked about his own politics and whether he ever felt pressure to represent a particular idea, MacKinnon was frank. “I don’t get editorial pressure toward say a particular political party. The pressure comes from the front page—a lot of my work is driven by the front page story.” A recent cartoon of Bashar al-Assad represented as a snake was a good example of this point. The snake is saying: “We agree to dispose of the chemical weapons we deny ever having.”  MacKinnon discussed how international politics are not usually the focus of the Herald’s front page but added: “When it’s a big story you can’t ignore it.”

Questioned further about his own politics, MacKinnon described himself as a moderate. “Over the years I have voted for all three major political parties; I find the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. That being said, although I am a moderate, there is a time and place for moderation and sometimes you have to hit hard. Humour is a vehicle to get people interested in your idea, but sometimes a cartoon isn’t meant to make you laugh.”

MacKinnon’s recent cartoon depicting a Saint Mary’s Husky urinating on a female student was a case in point. Indeed, the class didn’t laugh when they saw this image, but they discussed this cartoon at great length. It had its desired effect.

Constant lampooning has the occupational hazard of getting the lampooner in occasional hot water. MacKinnon discussed some of the blowback he had received over the years, including criticism of his caricatures of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. “At the bottom line we are critics. We are here to question the political powers that be. So I will draw Harper’s big nose, like I drew Mulroney’s big chin. I draw them as I see them. I am a caricaturist and nobody gets off the hook.”

MacKinnon generously donated his Dalhousie honorarium to the University of King’s College Calvin Headly Scholarship for African-American Athletes.