And…Cue the Sotomayor Cartoon Featuring Her As Piñata
5 June 2009, 8:54 AM. By Cindy Casares
Some people find this Sonia Sotomayor cartoon, entitled “Fiesta Time At The Confirmation Hearing” and published in Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper, The Oklahoman, kind of offensive. But, just the people with eyes. And hearts. And minds. The guy who drew it, Chip Bok, appeared on CNN to say that his point was to portray the stereotypes that people hold about hispanics. Mission accomplished! His reasoning seemed to be that since she has used her “Latina-ness” as a selling point in the past, then he would paint her as a Mexican strung up from a tree. Or something. Hey, Chip, they’ve got the Texas Rangers for that. (And no, we don’t mean the baseball team.)
Of course, calls to The Oklahoman editor have been dodged. That shit is set on voicemail and we don’t anticipate getting an answer to our message anytime soon.
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I don’t know about this one. I think, maybe, we’re being too sensitive. It is a cartoon after all.
BTW It’s Puerto Ricans that hit pinatas, right?
It’s not about it being a cartoon, but the message it’s trying to convey.
Personally, I think it’s trying to cast the GOP as walking into Obama’s trap. I think it was a bit clumsy though, what with the noose around her neck and all. But I don’t think anyone should be against criticizing something just because of the medium it’s expressed in.
I’m not excusing a potentially vitriolic statement simply because of the media through which it is expressed. On the contrary, I am saying that because it is a cartoon, it must be judged through a different lens. While it does revert to stereotype- Latinos as pinata-loving- it is more a commentary about conservatives eagerness to speak out harshly against her. Political cartoons use a lot of visual devices, like being the victim of a pinata smashing, to convey their message. As a matter of fact, for being kinda ignorant, I think it’s also kinda clever.
I don’t agree that cartoons should be judged any differently than editorial. Just because something is illustrated or just because something is supposed to make you laugh does not mean the message isn’t serious. On the contrary, the fact that an author thinks something is funny says more about him than an entire essay.
And purely from a professional standpoint, to bring out the old piñata imagery (like they did with Alberto Gonzales during his hearings) is the most hackneyed metaphor a cartoonist –who is supposed to have a refined sense of humor–could invoke. But I think it’s Obama in the sombrero that really puts it over the edge for me. Being that she’s Puerto Rican. I’m not buying that he is showing us the Republicans’ ignorance. That’s not conveyed in the image at all. If he wanted to do that, he could have put sombreros on the elephants and made them smile. No, I think this is his way of trying to telegraph how a Latino is being badgered by the senate and the best he could come up with was the same tired cliché. Which makes him look like an ingoramus. That’s why I hold to my original statement that the only ones who look bad in this cartoon are the people who edit The Oklahoman.
Surely you jest.
Frankly, I think it portrays Republican in more of a bad lightthan the beautiful Mrs. Sotomayor.
Funny.
I don’t think i ever said it portrays her in a bad light. on the contrary, it portrays The Oklahoman in a bad light.
Dont you think thats being a little judgemental?
A political cartoon is to a newspaper, what TMZ is to actual news. Entertaining… but hardly worth looking looking at more than once.
A little judgmental? Like that cartoon is a little racist? Okay.
It used to be that you could hold a newspaper above the level of a gossip website, but I guess those days have passed.
Hay dios, Cindy….calmate.
Yes those days have passed. Thats why we have blogs now-a-days.
The cartoon makes perfect sense, blindfold the elephants, the Republicans are clueless on how to break the pinata, just as they try to break Sotomayor from getting her well deserved nomination and eventual appointment.
!Que se valla a la verga la pinche vieja menopausa!
The pinata imagery makes sense, no matter what race it is. It’s something that is common in the US that people, not just Mexicans, beat regularly. Supreme Court justices go through lengthy and harsh confirmation hearings from both sides, but when it’s a minority nominee, politicians are more wary about attacking them because of how it looks.
Yeah, he mixes up his stereotypes, but as a Puerto Rican, I don’t find this racist, I just find it to be political.