From Charlie Chaplin to Spike Jones to Mel Brooks, artists and activists have ridiculed dictators. It’s hard to laugh seeing Russian bombs hit any target they please, including hospitals and schools, but if you can do nothing physically to help the people of Ukraine survive this war they didn’t ask for, you can try to see the absurdity in the aggressor.
This Broadway Diva enjoys Hamilton. King George III is a petty spurned lover of sorts. Very dangerous, yes, the kind of abusive lover many women have desperately tried to get away from. Couldn’t help but see similarities between Putin and George, especially with the line “I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.” Add that line to a composite of the Hamilton character and one of Putin’s many portraits, and we get this meme.
Maybe people feel it’s too soon to laugh like this. Maybe it will only be funny if Zelensky and the people of Ukraine pull a Washington and completely push back the Russian army. Meanwhile, my thoughts are with the defenders, the refugees, the people trapped in war zones, with all who are trying to help them, and the Russians trying to protest the lies of Putin.
UPDATE: Reviewing this portfolio and blog three years later, how is it possible that this situation is worse than ever?
Communication By Design 