"The Jew Monster" : Religion, satir och judisk identitetsproblematik i en karikatyrteckning av Eli Valley

• The article examines cartoons and comics as a platform for religious criticism and satire, with particular focus on a work called The Jew Monster made by the controversial American-Jewish cartoonist and creator of comics, Eli Valley. Valley’s satirical works have a number of recurring themes, such as Israeli politics, Zionism and its legacy, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, anti-Semitism and Jewish identity and religion. Not least is Valley often using a kind of provocative humour to criticize political and religious leaders. In order to examine some aspects of Valley’s satire, the cartoon The Jew Monster will be analyzed. The first part of the analysis consists of a close reading of the cartoon carried out with regard to its context, viz. the heated debates regarding religious caricatures that have taken place during the last years. The principal aim of this analysis is to establish what kind of phenomena Valley ridicules with this satirical work. In the second part of the analysis the reception of The Jew Monster by its audience is examined. This analysis is conducted through an assessment of the comments on the cartoon on various websites (including Valley’s own), in journals and media statements.

Keyword

Religion

Satire

Caricatures

Anti-Semitism

Eli Valley

Cartoons

Comics

Judaism

Monsters

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)