Today’s Pro Bono news cartoon. Find out more about Pro Bono here.
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Simon Kneebone - cartoonist and illustrator 
17 Comments
Could you explain the cartoon please, I need to write about it for English at school.
Hello Brody,
Thank you for your question. The cartoon tried to show that the toll from the floods wasn’t only the houses and property lost but also the effects on peoples’ mental health, an unseen toll. In the cartoon it was shown as a heart needing rescuing.
I hope this helps, go well with your studies.
Simon
Thank you Sir.
Go well Brody!
What would you say the target audience is?
Hi Chaz, the target audience of a cartoon is the reader! This cartoon is saying that the unseen damage to mental health is as important as the physical damage from a disaster – something everyone should be aware of. As this cartoon was drawn for the Pro Bono website, it’s readers were the charities and not-for-profit organisations specifically involved in assisting people affected by the floods on the east coast.
I hope this helps!
Why did you decide to draw this cartoon?
Hello Benjamin, every two weeks I draw a cartoon for the Pro Bono newsletter. For ideas I read the latest posts on the Pro Bono website, to get an idea of the issues that are topical. At the time the flooding on the east coast of Australia was happening. There were warnings that many people would suffer mental health issues from the trauma. So that gave me my idea. Cartoons are good at visualising unseen things; in this case, mental health shown as a heart needing rescuing. It is up to you the reader to decide if it worked or not!
I hope this helps.
Simon
What would you say are the cultural assumptions that your cartoon perspective shows?
The cartoon was trying to show that there are unseen and long term effects from natural disasters – culturally we often feel that once the disaster is ‘over’ those people should just get over it, they will be compensated, all will be fixed … while we move on, not our problem. We perhaps downplay the effects of serious trauma.
thank you so much
In what country and in what historical moment was the cartoon produced?
Hi Bryan, the cartoon was about serious floods in the Eastern states of Australia early last year. A lot of rescues…
Simon
what is the context and purpose of your cartoon?
The cartoon was about serious floods in the Eastern states of Australia early last year. A lot of rescues…
Simon
but isn’t it about mental health? what is the cartoon exactly saying about the mental issue?
Hi H, yes, certainly, making the point that the rescues were more than just physical, they were mental rescues as well; and hinting at the mental health implications for both the rescued and the rescuers. I do think that a cartoon sometimes works better if it’s message is a bit vague – leaving it to the reader to ‘read’ into a cartoon their own thoughts and experiences. the reader can bring reality to what is just a thought up drawing.