Joe Sacco He has been visiting conflict zones and conducting search operations for over 30 years. the origins of the kind of violence that is perpetuated and entrenched; And in the end, they end up destroying the entire town. After a long time, manga artists have one thing. … It is clearly politics that channels this violence and uses it for its own benefit to create greater division and consolidate its power. You’ve seen it in Gaza, you’ve seen it in Bosnia, you’ve seen it in India, and now you’re seeing it in the United States. “I’ve always been interested in the facts themselves, in the work of journalism, in contrasting what actually happened with people’s accounts and the stories that are told publicly. And what I’ve found is that in many cases, it’s power itself that misuses these stories, uses them for profit, and fuels more violence,” Sacco said in a statement to the ABC.
His latest journalistic record fascinated him To Uttar Pradesh, Indiain 2013 muzaffarnagar riotsan episode of extreme violence between Hindus and Muslims, with hundreds of deaths, thousands of displaced people, and a trail of destruction, abuse, and rape. in “Eternal Turmoil” (Reservoir Books) Sacco depicts his travels to the area and the stories told in interviews by religious leaders, political leaders, government officials, and victims of abuse. “Many politicians took advantage of the situation to add fuel to the fire and incite the masses. They incited riots for their own interests, and a year later Mobi was elected,” he says.
Political intervention in popular uplift is a problem that dates back to the 1930s with the rise of fascism. It culminates in President Trump’s storming of the Capitol and criminalization of immigration. “Right now, we’re seeing great theatricality in the speeches of politicians who promote violence, like the creation of the anti-immigrant group ICE in the United States, or the Secretary of Defense’s statements boasting about the number of deaths they’ve caused, as if they weren’t talking about humans. It’s all hyperbole and perversion,” Sacco says.
Joe Sacco of Barcelona
The truth is that people vote for this kind of speech, and Sacco understands well why. “At a time when there are no easy solutions to complex problems and society is under great stress and the future seems uncertain, It is easier to point out the culprit than to suggest effective countermeasures. “It’s easier to blame immigrants than to solve the uncertain future of Americans who lose their jobs, lose access to public health care, and lose their homes because they can’t re-enter the market,” he says.
The problem, he asserts, is not only structural but also personal. Most of these great leaders playing cards In the United States, prime minister modi In India, they exhibit a totalitarian wink that is difficult to hide. “They have characteristics sociopath or psychopathBut no one does psychoanalysis beforehand. Their thirst for power throws them off balance. “With climate change and AI on the agenda and an increasingly uncertain future, they are successfully playing the fear card to control voters,” Sacco said.
both India’s border with Pakistan is divided As in the case of Israel and Palestine, after the collapse of the British Empire due to the imposition of new territories by the international community, Western powers and colonialism seem to be the hidden cause of all current conflicts. “You can’t blame the West for all the evils in the world, but the West, through its imposition and ubiquity, leaves its mark on the problem. And instead of observing, apologizing, and learning the lessons of what it has caused, the West is mostly just turning a blind eye,” says the cartoonist.
Over 30 years of looking at Palestine
A clear example of this is the current genocide in Palestine, which Sacco gloomily observes. “The theoretical ceasefire simply allowed Israel to continue doing the same without the international community questioning it. 250 Palestinians killed since ceasefire. Nothing has changed. Although there have been no bombings and progress has been made, violence and harassment continue. “Genocide is happening not only in Israel, but throughout the Western world,” he observes.
author of “Palestine” or “Gaza Footnote” Create a new graphic book about the region in collaboration with journalist chris hedges. The two interviewed Palestinian refugees in Egypt, giving them an inside look at the conflict. “Everyone has lost their home. Everyone has seen a family member die. And everyone internalizes the disaster and dehumanizes it. They always wonder what they did to deserve such brutality. “They know that power doesn’t do them any good, and they really start to feel like they shouldn’t be human, because if they were human, they wouldn’t let anyone do that to them with impunity,” Sacco says.
Already in 2024 he will art spiegelman This is to help write articles about the Palestinian conflict. The result is “Never again.” “We’re old friends. He hadn’t painted in a while, so I went to his house and started working on a story. We talked, listened to music, and drew. He’s a 100 percent perfectionist. I’m 95 percent. So he lowered his expectations a little bit, I raised them a little bit, and we did this little project. “I always learn a lot when I’m around someone like Art Spiegelman,” confesses the cartoonist.
What’s interesting about the way Sacco works is that he first places the text on the page and then divides the boxes to create the picture. “Everyone has their own way of doing things, but for me it’s easier to organize the diagrams based on the text. I don’t work with “storyboards”. But I write down what I want to say in instructions and speech bubbles on each page and then draw the action,” Sacco admits.
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