Steve Bell is a celebrated left-wing cartoonist known for being both witty and provocative.
Priti Patel, home secretary in Boris Johnson’s cabinet in the United Kingdom, is certainly not exempt from criticism or caricature. Her patchy record, the multiple accusations against her of harassing colleagues and civil servants, and her hardline stance on issues, make her more amenable to satire than most. A cartoon in The Guardian — depicting Patel as a cow with a ring in her nose and Johnson as a bull protecting her — has invited the ire of the British-Indian community, among others.
Among the various forms of satire, the political cartoon is one that most pushes boundaries. It is based on exaggeration and caricature, an image that can bring the myriad hypocrisies of the powers-that-be into focus. Yet, it would not be wrong to say that basic notions of good taste and decency do apply. Such notions and boundaries, though, are constantly negotiated, and often, the way to find the line between cutting the powerful down to size and relying on prejudice to get a cheap laugh, is by crossing it.
Steve Bell is a celebrated left-wing cartoonist known for being both witty and provocative. The question is whether his depiction of Patel and Johnson is provocative or insensitive and racist. Or, to put it differently, would The Guardian publish a cartoon that used the Star of David to make fun of a Jewish member of the government? Or play on the crucifix to lampoon a right-wing religious leader with a martyr complex? These are complex questions, with no simple answers. But it is important, perhaps, to ask them.