You know how they say the pen is mightier than the sword? Yes? Well, that's never been more accurate than today, as artists and cartoonists take to social media with poignant pieces of art in response to the deadly terrorist attack on French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo.
You know how they say the pen is mightier than the sword? Yes? Well, that's never been more accurate than today, as artists and cartoonists take to social media with poignant pieces of art in response to the deadly terrorist attack on French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo.
People with drawing skills have turned to their own pens—while many others shared existing drawings—to express their solidarity and grief. It's kind of a perfect response, considering the killings occurred because of free artistic expression.
The attacks were a response to a series of satirical drawings Charlie Hebdo published poking fun at the Muslim prophet Mohammed.And if you're upset that, in this day and age, people are still dying over free speech, join the club. What happened at Charlie Hebdo is a deadly reminder that not everyone enjoys our uniquely American right to free speech, and even if they do, the backlash of that can be fatal and awful.
Tina Fey actually had some very on-point things to say about the attacks: she drew a comparison to the recent Sony hack, saying both attacks were dangerous intrusions on the right to free expression.
"You look at that and you look at the controversy surrounding 'The Interview,' it makes you think about how important free speech is and how it absolutely must be defended," she said. "[We] cannot back down on free speech in any way. We all have to stand firm on the issue of free speech."
The following bits of internet art mirror that sentiment pretty darn dang well.
Even Louis C.K., everyone's favorite daddy-figure they can't figure out whether or not they'd want to have sex with, showed his support for Charlie Hebdo when he wrote a giant "Charlie Hebdo" on his shirt last night for his Madison Square Garden show.
Art, be it satirical or not, is meant to examine society and make a statement. And by killing people who make it, you could argue that the Charlie Hebdo killers are making a statement of their own, expressing their own views just as the cartoonists at Charlie did.
We're not saying art and terrorism are the same thing at all, but many times, they're both making a grand statement about a personal belief or experience. In some ways, they have the same objective (although art isn't meant to hurt), which makes these killings not only horrible, but hypocritical as fuck.
We'll leave you with this bit of wisdom from Michael Ian Black.
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