Vous êtes Charlie?

These past devastatingly sad days it has been emphasized how Charlie Hebdo is in a league of its own. It certainly has been next to impossible to quote from the weekly. The editorial interest does not lie in the actual rendering of the drawing; how making that slant of the pen would create a certain effect. They have partaken in and most often created new layers to the public debate, which is difficult to transform onto a blog such as the present one without the argument losing its spark.

Charlie Hebdo does, however, form part of a long tradition, of which Willis is another offspring. In the 18th century we had the likes of Rowlandson and Cruikshank bashing the authorities, being the first cartoonists operating in a democracy; while Daumier became a lighthouse of inspiration half a century later when he took down anyone claiming power over anyone or anything.

Nadia Khiari undresses the power by combining the confrontation and the outspoken drawing the figurative carpet away underneath the protagonists and the beholder alike. In the present cartoon a black ringed left eye sort of leaves the drawing to confront us, while Nadia Khiari gives the declaration of the past two days that tiny twist, which is her speciality, wringing out any touch of sentimentality and bringing in a larger perspective of the undertakings of the world in the meantime:

Nadia Khiari, WillisFromTunis, January 9, 2015.
Sofiane Chourabi and Nadhir Guetari
Two Tunisian journalists are being held hostage in Libya by ISIS
- Are you Charlie?

The cartoon shown is courtesy of Nadia Khiari. The situation of the hostages is uncertain. It is rumored that they have been executed, but it has not been confirmed. Let us remain hopeful about their safety.