#DangerousArt
Mr. Fish doesn't fit in any box, much less a box designed to describe him, so if you want to know more about this amazing artist, it’s time to check out the film trailer.
Booth is a punk rock artist, a man who still has the vibrant sock-it-to-the-man energy of a rebellious teenager – but he’s also a middle-aged, married father of two with bills to pay and commitments to keep. Bryant’s film looks at how he tries to juggle these battling personas, something which isn’t easy when he has few people willing to buy his controversial work.
Read MoreIt takes true talent to make someone root for an asshole.
Well, not necessarily an asshole, per se, but an unabashed, unapologetic, uncompromising and brilliant human being, who doesn’t want or need your acceptance or understanding to live his life, think the thoughts he does or express himself in an unfiltered way.
So. An artist.
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The collapse of print media is naturally one of our favorite topics around ye olde watercooler at the Chronicle, but as we all pour one out, again and again, for the industry at large, not nearly enough ink has been spilled over a particular kind of crusading journalism that’s moved from the endangered to near-extinct status – that of the political cartoonist.
I don’t know that Mr. Fish would call himself a political cartoonist, even though he’s certainly made his mark tangling with politics and culture in provocative and trenchant cartoons printed in the likes of Harper’s Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Utne Reader, and TruthDig.
Read MoreBy using animated sequences along with static images, Bryant highlights Booth’s unique way of understanding the world. In these tumultuous time, Booth thinks “there’s still so much work to do, who’s gonna do it?…I will… I want to create art that makes people think about their humanity.”
Read MoreMr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End is a documentary following controversial political cartoonist Mr. Fish as he navigates his work and personal life. It screened at the 2018 Florida Film Festival, among other festivals as an official selection.
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Florida Film Festival: Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End (2017) reviewed by Jonathan Berk
Mr. Fish: Cartooning From the Deep End (2017) is a documentary screening at the 2018 Florida Film Festival. The film showcases Dwayne Booth, who is a political cartoonist who goes by the name Mr. Fish. His cartoons are controversial but often stab at the truth of many problems. The film depicts the struggles he encounters in his career as a result of the unrelenting honesty found in his art, which often utilizes obscene images or text to emphasize his points.
Read MoreThe 1996 Telecommunication Act may sound like a somewhat dated and bureaucratic piece of legislation; but, it is really more like a seed planted two decades ago that has grown deep and gnarled roots into American culture. Consider, at the time, the 10,000 or so radio stations in America were owned by about 5000 different parties, but today 80 percent of those radio stations have been consolidated into ownership by three corporations. Clear Channel, for example, only owned 40 or so radio stations in 1996, but a decade later controlled hundreds.
Read MoreIt’s not so much the fact that he’s so edgy with his satirical outlook but it’s more the fact that the political cartoonists in general are being “systematically murdered” as one interview subject comments on the matter.
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(The 24th Annual Slamdance Film Festival ran January 19-25 in Park City, UT. Hammer to Nail has you covered and guarantees more coverage than any other site. Watch us work it!)
Dwayne Booth, aka Mr. Fish, is part of a dying breed of cutting-edge, no-holds-barred editorial cartoonists. His work is brazen in style, explicit in language and image, and frequently offensive. It’s also extremely funny to those not offended. More importantly, it is protected by the First Amendment of our nation’s Bill of Rights. Thanks to Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End, the documentary debut of Pablo Bryant, we get to know the man and his cartoons in great depth.
Still, in a world where drawing pictures can lead to death threats and assassinations, as we saw when the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked, taking a principled stand for one’s art and beliefs can be dangerous. Whatever one thinks of Mr. Fish, the artist, there is no question that Dwayne Booth, the man, is possessed of no small amount of bravery (and impish delight in pissing people off), speaking truth to power, a necessary part of any healthy democracy. As Dwayne says, “Take away the right to say f*** and you take away the right to say ‘f*** the government’.” (asterisks mine, not his)
Read MoreNow that I’m old, I’ve grown to appreciate the “voice.” I love listening to people, who are passionate and informed regardless of whether I agree with them or not. From Pablo Bryant comes a documentary about the state of editorial cartooning today and its most prolific member in Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End.
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CREDIT: Courtesy Palm Springs Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
Director: Pablo Bryant
The best of art comes from the creation that follows destruction. Mr. Fish: Cartooning From The Deep End is a documentary full of raw, ugly, animated humanity that respects that tension. Full of traumatic fantasies and dark humor, the protagonist—controversial editorial cartoonist Mr. Fish—is rich with twisted imagination. Fish is sanctimonious and sarcastic, which comes forward in the film from the first frame. The greater purpose of vulgarity and fighting the gatekeepers is a question that imbues the film and its protagonist. Fish is meticulous and profoundly talented, yet seems begrudged by his calling. Vignettes of his cutting and clever work are fantastically displayed throughout the film.
Read MoreHola Dannie aqui!
Received a copy of "Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End" and I have to say WOW! It is everything I live for in an art documentary, and the subject matter of provocative artist Mr. Fish (a.k.a. Dwayne Booth) is right up my alley! I was so incredibly delighted that at only a couple seconds into the film it caught my heart and interest immediately.
This is the story of a true noncomformist, that would never even conform to that label.
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