El Santo Rey.
Oil and gold leaf on Wood tondo. 8" x 8" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz. Private Collection
Anyone
doubting the power and impact of satire
and humor in a work of art should be seriously rethinking their arguments by
now. In the past few months, we've
witnessed two perfect examples of provocative art that have stirred people,
governments and other groups at a global
scale. Now, one can argue about how good or bad these art forms may be but they
are without any doubt they are to be considered satirical art, and it has
delivered a big punch at a global scale. Seth Rogen and James Franco's The Interview stirred so much controversy, it brought a transnational corporation
(Sony) face to face with an oppressive state (N. Korea) In the end, the movie
makers and the power of online streaming came out victorious. More recently the
French magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by Islamic extremists and this unfortunate
killing of satirical cartoonists brought the world together to voice out their support
for democracy and free speech.
Here we have two oppressive
ideological systems obsessed with censorship and raging against any kind of
parody or satire, one is political, the other religious but they share the same
repressive values that undermine and attack any form of dissent and free
expression. Charlie Hebdo and The Interview are just two reactionary expressions to these systems.. These
power structures understand that satire is a seriously dangerous weapon to deal with because it opens people's minds to
the possibility that nothing is really sacred, allowing them to not take any
doctrine political or religious too seriously and question their assumed authority.
As a satirical artist
myself, I cannot remain immune and was moved by both events with its multiple
ramifications which has brought me to the following conclusion: Satirical
movies, cartoons, and every other work of art that satirizes any form of
religion or political establishment is a powerful seed of dissent that can ultimately
create a huge impact, bringing people together to protest and perhaps even
topple long established regimes. (just
look back at the cartoons from the French Revolution at the end of the eighteen
century). Monarchies, religious groups, governments and corporations may come
and go but the Promethean rebellious and irreverent spirit that creates satire
will always remain a useful tool to question the value and purpose of any dictatorial
socio-cultural construct.
Roman mosaic depicting a Greek comedy.
Since the Old comedies
of Aristophanes to the Colbert Report, satire keeps aiding
us against religious and political fanaticism. And this did not start with the Greeks making fun of their gods and rulers
with masks and plays. We can go back to ancient Egypt in fact and find frescos
making use of satire. Satire may be as ancient as religion itself and it will
remain a great creative conductor of dissent freeing minds from the shackles of
fundamentalism. The world needs more satirical art because the world needs to
question all of its inherited patriarchal
assumptions, the old moral and authoritative dogma that has led to our current globalized
state, from cultural stupidity to social inequality to environmental
catastrophes. For this and for the fun
of it, let's make more satirical art!
Ancient Egyptian Ostracon depicting pharaonic Cat being served by rat.
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