Recast

I surmise that cartoonists would rather not see their work make headlines these days. Let me elaborate, I think cartoonists like being in the news. We want the attention, but not if it causes death. I've been informally surveying my cartoonist buddies over the last five years about the Danish cartoon controversy to discern no definite trend. Cartoonists from many countries seem united on the issue that our work should be protected as free speech, but we are split in our opinion as to what the reasonable limits of that speech are.

Some cartoonists, for instance, rally to the defense of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergarrd, who drew cartoons of Mohammad that offended Muslims. On New Year's Day, Danish police shot and wounded a man connected to radical Islamists after the man tried to enter Mr. Westergarrd's home, allegedly with the intent to do harm to the artist. Still, some cartoonists have qualms with this type of cartoon, deeming it unnecessarily provocative and divisive.

My feeling is there is a better middle ground: a way to bring to light issues such as extremist wrongs, anti-immigration sentiments, and censorship, without being in-your-face about it. Cartoons can impart difficult messages, and should. That's the beauty of cartoons -- their graphic strength can communicate uncomfortable ideas to different cultures in a breath.

Recast is a regular feature for dscriber.com by Liza Donnelly, a contract cartoonist with The New Yorker magazine. The drawings in this series are some of the cartoons the magazine decided not to publish. She is internationally recognized for her work for Cartooning for Peace and she lectures on cartoons, the art of cartooning, and feminism. Donnelly's new book, "Laugh Lines," will be published this year. Her website is lizadonnelly.com.

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