Leunig Is At It Again, And Nobody Knows What “It” Is
Leunig, retire please.
Michael Leunig, Fairfax’s veteran cartoonist and Australia’s most whimsical anti-vaxxer is back with another exciting take on marriage equality and LGBTIQ rights. And that take, my friends, is nonsense.
Michael Leunig today – a very unique perspective. pic.twitter.com/AKLdjp7AVA
— The Age (@theage) November 25, 2017
In this recent cartoon, Leunig seems to be commenting on both the recent win by marriage equality supporters in the postal survey debacle, and also the response to his previous, widely derided cartoon, which was received ‘very badly’ by critics and Twitter. And for some reason, he has devoted his space on one of Australia’s national broadsheets to make the highly tumultuous debate around queer rights… all about him. And nobody knows why.
What is even the point of this? Leunig at it again in today's paper pic.twitter.com/PCukciL98O
— Genevieve Dwyer (@GenevieveHDwyer) November 25, 2017
Really don't get Leunig's latest.@leunig_is_dril pic.twitter.com/vWVKcOi5rY
— Rambo Latour (@hpstorian) November 25, 2017
I am going out of my mind rn!!!!! How does Leunig still have a job?!?!? Also, he left off 'intersex' from the banner https://t.co/sz8cYS6pM3
— Mel Campbell (@incrediblemelk) November 25, 2017
The cartoon seems to mirror the perspective held by many vocal members of the No campaign that the advocacy of the queer community for equal marriage rights in Australia is somehow a bullying tactic. They like to think the Yes team is a mean and fabulous gang set out to oppress anyone who simply wants to hold on to their outdated opinions in peace. Except this cartoon focuses purely on one aggrieved perspective.
— renne (@rennemiles) November 25, 2017
It’s weird for the people who currently possess the rights to marry to accuse the people who are disenfranchised of that same right, of being bullies. And it’s doubly weird for someone with a national, widely-read cartoon platform to take the stance of being a victim.
Leunig on Triple R basically saying "Young people are making it really hard for me to be able to be ableist and sexist and racist ?"
— Anna Spargo-Ryan's mother's daughter (@annaspargoryan) November 19, 2017
Not only is it a baffling and bad point of view to take, the cartoon itself is not great. Political cartoons are something of an acquired taste, often taking the form of a kind of stone-aged proto-meme without a joke, but Leunig’s recent efforts seem unnecessarily cryptic. Plus, somehow the little ditty in the cartoon can be sung perfectly to the tune of Guns N’ Roses ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, which only adds to the general miasma of mystery and weirdness.
If the cartoon was an odd plea for clemency after the negative feedback to his last effort, he has unfortunately failed again, because the response has definitely been more brutal.
tired: michael leunig’s awful shit
wired: mary leunig’s cartoon of her disembowelling her piece of shit brother with a colt peacemaker pic.twitter.com/rl6t9G1ZAV— FAILSONN O))) (@piss_mishima) November 25, 2017
incredible to think of the number of actual journalists you have sacked while still paying Leunig to produce his tedious pap
— Michael Lucy Is Always Logging Off (@MmichaelLlucy) November 25, 2017
I fixed Leunig pic.twitter.com/AbBiIBT41w
— Patrick ?? Avenell (@Patrickavenell) November 25, 2017
But perhaps people are being cruel, and there’s a simple explanation:
You guys what if Leunig died in the mid naughties and was replaced by AI that realised his cartoons are just ducks and people tangled in knots?
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 25, 2017