Political Humor
The strip often pokes fun at political figures, both South African and elsewhere in the world (much in the same way, though not as consistently, as the US strip Doonesbury). Past targets have included former South African president Thabo Mbeki, former South African Deputy President and now President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, businessman Schabir Shaik and Winnie Mandela. Further afield, jabs have been directed at US President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Pop star Michael Jackson and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Even Nelson Mandela has been a source of fun. Although highly regarded both in and out of South Africa, Madam and Eve has tended to present him as no better than any other politician. For example, when he and Frederik Willem de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, a series of strips had their lawyers discussing its sharing with Mandela insisting on a 60-40% split on the grounds that he had featured on more magazine covers and Hollywood movies.
Read more about this topic: Madam & Eve
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or humor:
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“All my humor is based upon destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, without disease and violence, I’d be standing on the breadline right in back of J. Edgar Hoover.”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)