Mark Knight is our best tabloid cartoonist. Is his Serena Williams drawing racist?
Robert Phiddian considers how the Serena Williams cartoon controversy would have played out differently without social media in this crossposting from The Conversation.
Is the Mark Knight cartoon of Serena Williams racist? It depends on where you sit.
Let me start with three opinions:
I have long thought Mark Knight the best and most intelligent tabloid cartoonist in Australia.
I find it inconceivable that he deliberately sat down to draw a racist cartoon and accept his explanation of purpose at face value.
Race is a real, if second order, category in how most people will assimilate the image of Williams; it is not “not there”.
I can imagine an Australian past when this cartoon, which shows Williams jumping on her racquet with a dummy on the ground, would have been less controversial. Williams has been dominant long enough that she might well have thrown a similar tantrum, say, in the 2002 Australian Open. Had she done so, the same cartoon would probably have passed with little comment.
The Herald Sun sold more copies then, but it only circulated in Victoria, and Australian sensitivity specifically to racism against African Americans was (and possibly still is) too weak for that aspect of the image to loom large. As I said, race is not “not there”, but neither is it, in my view, “the point”.
Tomorrow’s @theheraldsun front page tonight #auspol #springst pic.twitter.com/2nuLbKppku
— damon johnston (@damonheraldsun) 11 September 2018
But here’s the rub: in the endless passion play of US culture, there is no way the cartoon will now be read as non-racist in the US and, therefore, internationally.
An artist’s intention cannot control the way images circulate any more. This isn’t exactly new, but the instant circulation of everything has put the risk of offence being taken on steroids.
My guess is that J.K. Rowling is not a regular reader of the Herald Sun, but Twitter can shear off the context and deliver the cartoon to her for comment.
Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop. https://t.co/YOxVMuTXEC
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) 10 September 2018
Cartoonists have to compress their images, so they often use stereotypes. This objectifies the subject and is thus, inevitably, an othering process. That is how representation works in general and how satirical representation works in particular.
You just cannot draw Serena Williams without drawing her female and black. So should she never be drawn? Even when she has plainly made herself a topic of interest in a very public way? Is silence better than risk of offence?
The National Association of Black Journalists has accused Knight’s depiction of being “unnecessarily sambo-like”. They certainly have a point, particularly about Williams’ hair and lips, which could have been drawn more demurely without loss of fidelity. On the other hand, those who comment on Naomi Osaka being depicted as “a petite blonde” seem to miss that her skin tone is almost identical in the cartoon to Williams’.
So, is there any way of drawing an angry and powerful African-American woman and quarantining the image from old racist stereotypes? Should Knight just not have gone there? By all means make up your own mind.
The problem is that balance and restraint are not what we want from our satirists. Cartoonists often draw to probe and offend. Otherwise they would just be freelance marketers of positive images. If they do offend, however, they have to live with the criticisms, or they are demanding a standard they do not themselves apply.
Cartoons should generate a robust exchange of views on matters of public significance. It’s an exchange where the Hippocratic Oath of “first do no harm” cannot reign supreme without undermining the free circulation of ideas, images, and opinions.
Mark Knight should not be muzzled but he has to cop it sweet from those who dislike the cartoon. He does not work in a safe environment, where all he will hear is the gentle murmuring of affirmation. Neither do public figures like Serena Williams.
So, my last opinion: given the current configuration of digital media, there’s no way this safe environment is about to arrive, and I hope it never does.
Robert Phiddian is a professor of English at Flinders University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This just in. White, male, privileged baby boomer who has never experienced racism, sexism or being a minority his whole life, decides cartoon is not racist because it utilises stereotypes and it is the stereotypes that are racist.
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Hear hear! You’d think that an academic with a focus on political satire would have more interesting/informed opinions on this matter.
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And you just attacked Robert based on your own held stereotypes around his race, sex and age.
Which makes you racist, sexist and ageist.
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Did we need another white man’s opinion on this?
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Before condemning Mark Knight for his depiction of Serena Williams
I suggest you look at his cartoon of Nick Kyrgios. Neither would be considered flattering, but both are accurate caricatures of them and as ‘petulant brats’ as was Knight’s intention.
For any caricature to be successful, it must heighten/or make immediately obvious, the physical characteristics of the subject.
For instance, Knight would always makes John Howard look very small just as he exaggerates Bill Shorten’s forehead. Barak Obama’s ears never escaped the attention of cartoonists worldwide.
In the case of Serena Williams, her physical prowess is both something she is proud of and something she has highlighted herself. In doing so she has given comfort and confidence to many larger, stronger women who’ve previously considered themselves less feminine and less attractive than their size 10 counterparts. In that sense, Williams has provided a positive role model for women and helped redefine what it is to be feminine. [Vanity Fair did a pictorial on her highlighting the beauty of her extraordinary physical attributes].
For that she should applauded.
Therefore, IMHO, I consider the exaggeration of her physical prowess in any caricature to be consistent with her appearance [just as it would be for Arnold Shwarzenegger] and has nothing to do with race.
Whether the umpire treated her differently simply because she is a woman is a different question.
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“Is the Mark Knight cartoon of Serena Williams racist?”
Yes.
The impressive thing is Knight and The Herald Sun taking their aim off Melbourne’s Sudanese community long enough to have a crack at Serena.
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Call me white and racist if you like but there is no way that I see this cartoon as racist. It doesn’t denigrate Williams any more than any other cartoon subject is typically denigrated. What do you want, for her to be portrayed as white, happily smiling through thin lips etc.? The cartoon conveys her likeness (whether you like that or not) and indeed her behaviour and that is the actual point. Hysterical reactions are only taking away from the fact that she was roundly defeated despite her petulant behaviour during the match. Why should that not be represented. And BTW I am no defender of racism or the Herald Sun but I cannot buy the over-reaction to this cartoon.
I’m with “OK. I’ll try and give it a go”
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Yes the depiction seems racially motivated especially when compared the the white seemly demur female in the background.. Why did he not do the same type of drawing with serena’s opponent? In addition, I also see an element of sexism as well by including the baby pacifier.in the foreground. Were it a male who was a father of a new born, would he have included the pacifier.
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It is simply outrageous and typical of today’s political correctness that anyone would see this image as anything but an accurate comment on Ms Williams’ petulant behaviour.
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I think the main thing people are missing is, if people are offended than who are you to say “no you’re not”. I don’t think there was malicious intent behind the drawing, maybe just some cultural ignorance, but the fact is no matter how great old mate is at drawing cartoons, this one was out of line.
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A caricature of an individual needs to do more than exaggerate stereotypical racial features – it has to bear some likeness to them. It’s possible to draw Williams, Obama, Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King, Sidney Poiter – whomever you like, but if there isn’t some actual likeness to them, and given there is a history of racist cartoons, it’s dubious territory.
Serena Williams is a champion that had an ugly meltdown because she felt she’d been accused of cheating. This doesn’t excuse her behaviour. But illustrating her behaviour as childish doesn’t mean it’s clever or satirical – satire isn’t an automatic defence – it needs another layer of irony to be actually satirical e.g. even champions were children once.
I don’t think this is leftie PC culture gone awol or that Knight is a racist. But I do think it’s fair to demand people do better and not play to racist stereotypes.
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Do a google search for Robert. You will discover he is indeed white and male. The ageist comment I can cop. I dare say you’ve missed the point of both the article and my comment. Maybe give both a reread.
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Before you comment you should at least understand what you’re commenting on – the dummy is Serena’s, she’s having a dummy spit. It has nothing to do with her being a mother.
Makes sense though, if you look hard enough to find offence you will succeed.
And why is Serena’s opponent is presented as small and demure in the background? Because she just got on with playing the game while Serena yelled and screamed and carried on like a pork chop (apologies in advance if your religion has an issue with pork).
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Except she doesn’t have big lips. Not at all. Indeed she had cosmetic surgery on her lips.
This is the danger of stereotypes. Many are assuming that it’s okay to show her with fat lips because, well, all black people have big lips. Which is of course not true.
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Yes. We do. It has just as much value as any other gender’s or races’ opinion. Your attitude is the modern equivalent of ‘what would you know, you’re just a woman’. It’s a sentiment completely that has no place in our world. Neither does yours.
Shutting down comment just because of someone’s gender or skin colour or sexuality is completely wrong. Attack the thinking. Not the messenger.
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Everything that has taken place in the world of film, advertising, restaurants and everything else recently is about power. Weinstein had power over countless females and used that power to assault and abuse them. Ditto the creative leaders around the globe who have been proved to have done the same with their staff. (I’m not mentioning the countless ones who have been accused but not proven by the likes of Diet Madison Avenue). Ditto the chefs of the most prestigious restaurants in America and #heretoo I imagine. They all had power over their victim. This is the same. Serena Williams is one of the most powerful people in the world of tennis. We all heard her threaten the umpire that he would never umpire her again. Which in essence was a threat that she could end his career. Serena, comfortable in her position as the all powerful professional tennis player and cultural icon, decided to tell this guy he would never work again. Bullying. Intimidation. Standover. She should count herself lucky that Mark Knight drew her as a petulant child (that looks like her in the world of cartoon caricature) and not a female version of her as Harvey Weinstein or any of the other power-crazed pigs that have been exposed of late.
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I think the point is, it doesn’t look like her. It’s a stereotype of an African woman with thick lips. That’s the issue. It’s the cartoon equivalent of blacking up on Hey Hey then wondering why people would be offended, whilst the rest of us cringe.
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Fact Serenade is black, she wears a tutu to play tennis, she broke her racquet, she caused a stir or two because she was loosing against a young opponent. That was the cartoon!
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Serena had always been a sore loser with a sort fuse. That is the reality. Nothing to do with sexism. She lost and took it out on the umpire
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How would a white male personally know anything about the racist experiences a black woman has endured her whole life? The majority of which has come from white males.
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But what about the content of his argument Ryan? Are you just going to ignore it? Or do you think that dismissing him as a white male – and therefore irrelevant according to you – makes his ideas, argument, perspective go away?
A well reasoned counter to his ideas is welcomed. But dismissing someone’s thinking only because of their gender or colour is frankly childish.
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Ya’ll too serious
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If you google Mark Knight cartoonist you will see that this is not his first racist cartoon, he is a serial offender and he enjoys it.
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