As an unbeliever, I find it simultaneously tragic and absurd to witness religious wars fought over deities. As a free speech advocate, I'm equally troubled by the death and destruction triggered by a Danish cartoonists' depictions of Mohamed. There's a basic principle of semantics concerning symbolism being ignored here -- the menu is not the meal; the map is not the territory -- which serves only to intensify both the tragedy and the absurdity.
Among those newspapers in the United States which declined to reprint the Danish cartoons, only the Boston Phoenix admitted that they made the decision "out of fear of retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do."
Most artists and commentators were more lighthearted in responding to the controversy. Wiley Miller's syndicated comic strip, "Non Sequitur," presented a sidewalk artist who "finally achieves his goal to be the most feared man in the world" with a placard advertising "Caricatures of Mohamed While You Wait!" Chip Bok in the Akron Beacon Journal depicted a CNN correspondent displaying one of the Danish cartoons featuring a pixilated head of Mohamed with a bomb in his turban, and a viewer observing, "Well, no wonder Muslims are upset. Mohamed looks like he's on acid." And Pat Oliphant in the Washington Post delineated a meeting of The Deities Association gathered on a cloud, where various spiritual icons laughed hysterically. One of them said, "Hey, Mohamed, take a look at this cartoon! They've got you being hijacked by Muslim extremists -- it's a riot!"
In the United States, at least, there have been more threats of litigation than violence. The controversy takes me back to when I helped spark a cartoon controversy of my own, albeit not a global one. Walt Disney had just died, and a rumor was circulating that his body had been frozen. (It had been cremated.) At the time I expected Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and the whole gang to attend the funeral, with Goofy delivering the eulogy and the Seven Dwarfs serving as pallbearers. Disney's death occurred a few years after Time magazine's famous "God Is Dead" cover, and it occurred to me that Disney had served as Intelligent Designer to that whole stable of imaginary characters who were mourning in a state of suspended animation.
Disney was their Creator, and had repressed all their baser instincts. But now that he was dead, they could finally shed their inhibitions and hold an unspeakable Roman binge, to signify the crumbling of an empire. I contacted Mad magazine illustrator Wally Wood, and, without mentioning any specific details, I told him my general notion of a memorial orgy at Disneyland to be published in my magazine, The Realist. He accepted the assignment and presented me with a magnificently degenerate montage.
This copyrighted black and white parody, the Disneyland Memorial Orgy centerspread, became so popular that I decided to publish it as a poster in 1967. The Disney corporation considered a lawsuit but soon realized that The Realist had no real assets, and besides, why bother causing themselves any further public embarrassment? They decided to take no action, and their attorneys never ordered me to cease and desist. Fortunately, the statute of limitations has run out, and I recently published a digitally colored version of the original poster.
Disney is still going after those who defame their mouse Prophet. Britain's official artist for the Persian Gulf war, John Keane, recently got in trouble for his painting in which Mickey Mouse appears on what looks like a toilet, with a shopping cart of anti-tank missiles nearby, against background of shattered palm trees. A spokesperson for the Disney empire said they were considering possible copyright violations. The artist said that the idea came to him in Kuwait City, in a marina used by the Iraqis, where he found a Mickey Mouse amusement ride surrounded by feces.
Disney attorneys have also arranged to have white paint splashed over the "innocent delightfulness" of Disney characters on murals at three day care centers in Florida. They were replaced by Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone and Scooby Doo. Meanwhile, I continue to wait, with mounting anxiety, for Mickey, Donald Duck, Goofy and all the others to find God and declare a fatwa against me. I'm scared shitless.
