Nick Anderson, editorial cartoonist at the Houston Chronicle, has created a remarkable example of next generation political cartooning. The cartoon, entitled Feel Good, Inc. combines animated figures for Bush, Rove, and Cheney, who rap and sing in front of a dense montage of news photographs and the occasional smiley button. The animation is deft and the songs are clever, but it’s the photos that provide the critical edge and disturbing emotional tone, while the pop culture icon of the smiley button really drives the point home: These people are playing with our lives and don’t give a damn about the harm they cause. Comments at the paper’s online site, Chron.com, are here.
Interestingly enough, Feel Good Inc is a popular hip hop/brit pop song by the British group Gorillaz from 2005. Gorillaz are also an experimental “virtual” band–rather than performing “live” shows, they have comic book personas which perform on screens on stage. All of their videos are animated and some of them are really strikingly beautiful. The hip hop dimension is provided by collaborations with prominent indy or conscious rappers–in the case of the original, “Feel Good Inc,” De La Soul. Anyways, there is a parody dimension in the video (or a pastiche dimension because Feel Good Inc is more of a vehicle for a political message where none was before) that shouldnt be ignored, although you are right that the photographs are doing the legwork here. But its interesting that the animated original may circulate more effectively because a.) the band already operates in at a level of visual mediation, b.) the song was extremely popular (it was up for a grammy), and c.) those who like Gorillaz as a band are already likely to share the political view expressed in the parody. You can see the original at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01C4RPEinM4
Anyways, just food for thought
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