If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
Saffers have known this for decades and, thanks to the number of crises and heaps of chaos and ugliness we deal with, we’re pretty good at it.
The only time I noticed a near-total national sense of humour failure was during last year’s insurrection-that-wasn’t-an-insurrection.
We’re frequently told we’re a resilient people. Mostly by people elected by us to work for us and failing to do so. Or those trying to show one (or two) rebellious finger/s to the looming doom of our economy, unemployment, the collapse of our institutions, the cost of living (I fuel you, bruh) and the absence of justice against those who lie, cheat, steal, mislead or abuse us, or are about to.
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting gatvol with that. All the yadda yadda yadda of the State of the Nation address and the bleak upcoming Budget ‒ all I want to hear is how we get our money back.
It’s safe to assume, however, that’s not going to happen before the Budget. That’s when those who are beyond fortunate enough to have a job will be wrung out again and (I try not to “listen” to Twitter gossip) that the poor will join Desiccation Drive and also be bled by a VAT hike, fuel levy increase. So many ways to fit the drip.
But consider this: What if it’s your job to find the lighter side? To pluck some humour from the darkness and keep despair from overwhelming us, while directing pointy arrows at those who deserve them.
I don’t know how they do it (and have done so since the early ’90s). Teflon satirists Stephen Francis and Rico, the creators of South African icons Madam and Eve, must have days they also want to hide under the duvet. But they somehow manage to view the worst of us through a prism and reflect some light.
Their latest annual, Family Meeting, arrived for review after I learnt our whole suburb would be powerless for four hours the next day. While the fans stopped spinning and the mozzie-fighting thingies were out of action, I climbed into some cold water and had a laugh in the face of near-defeat.
A cartoon collection is difficult to review because it’s such a visual medium. In a word (or three), it’s funny and very clever.
IMO, it works so well because it speaks to us on a human level. It gently pokes at our own frailties, but digs harder at the bad guys. We can smile, laugh, nod and feel we have landed a few punches of our own.
Even the Defeated Former Guy features. As someone who has watched with dismay his election, the destruction and rabidity he unleashed, and his January 6 coup attempt, it’s delicious. As are the reflections on another former president who did much the same and is a frequent target too. Astonishingly, both appear to be dancing a jig on justice. The parallels are remarkable and not funny, except in the skilled hands of Francis and Rico.
These wonderful annuals have another benefit: they remind us of a year gone by, the hurdles we have faced, the highs and lows, and keep the tears at bay. Get it before the Budget blues hit.
- Lindsay Slogrove is the news editor.
The Independent on Saturday