Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2022 by Tim Benson
| Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2022 by Tim Benson | |
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| Category: Humour | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A collection of the best political cartoons in the period 4 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. What will worry you is that with a little tweaking they could represent what is happening now. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 208 | Date: October 2022 |
| Publisher: Hutchinson Heinemann | |
| ISBN: 978-1529153057 | |
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Seeking some light relief from the current political turmoil which is coming to seem more and more like an adrenaline sport, I was nudged towards Britain's Best Political Cartoons of 2022. Sharp eyes will have noted that we're not yet through the year: the cartoons run from 4 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. Who can imagine what there will be to come in the 2023 edition?
For those who might be so involved in the current shenanigans, it's worth remembering what came to the attention of the satirists in those twelve months. Boris Johnson was forced out of the premiership, ostensibly because he attended his own birthday party but memory suggests that members of his cabinet (who quit en masse) couldn't trust a word he said. Some of them seem to have short memories as they're leaning towards inviting him back to star in season two of the farce. We've had record temperatures and smiled as the queen took tea with Paddington. We were the almost-winners of Eurovision. Tensions with China grew and the Russians tried to make Ukraine their own. Americans were polarised on the subject of abortion: it was a turbulent twelve months.
Editor Tim Benson provides an excellent introduction to the subject of political cartoons and how the monarchy has been treated by satirists over the years. It's enlightening and delightfully funny too. Please don't open the book and dash to get to the cartoons - you'd be missing a gem.
The best cartoons have a freshness and immediacy about them. They're frequently 'of their time' and even a few days later can seem to lack humour. Benson gives a short summary of the relevance of each cartoon. In September 2021 an official of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan announced that women would not be permitted to participate in sports. What can a woman ever achieve? The timing was impeccable: Emma Raducanu had just won her US Open semi-final and the Taliban official was rewarded with a tennis ball square in the mouth.
There's a neat tie-up between the situation on the borders of Ukraine as Putin's tanks mass there and the beleaguered Prime Minister who had just had to apologise for attending gatherings during lockdown. It's a work event, explains Putin.
I'd almost forgotten about P&O's infamous sacking of nearly 800 employees and their replacement by an Indian workforce paid just £1.80 an hour. The cartoon of 22 March by Steven Camley for Herald Scotland gives some idea of the conditions below decks.
There's a commendable lack of political bias. Johnson obviously, attracted more attention than Sir Keir Starmer but both are appropriately lampooned. There are more than 180 cartoons in the book, giving you plenty to remember and a good few laughs. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
We think you might also enjoy Staggering Hubris by Josh Berry.
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