So I finally got around to looking at the offending Charlie Hebdo cartoons . . .

[Bluenorthwest]

98. I wonder if people here can manage to do a thought experiment using a US cartoon? Do you dare?

I'm going to post a link to a cartoon posted on DU. It is an American cartoon which we understand instantly because we know who the characters are and what point of view is being expressed. However, the basic, surface elements of the cartoon say the opposite of the actual satirical message of the cartoon.

It's an image of a crazed looking, furious Christian bellowing from a TV screen while a man dressed to indicate he is Muslim shouts 'All Christians must be accountable for this guy'.
It seems to be a cartoon of a Muslim blaming all Christians for a rotten Christian, the drawing even makes the Muslim seem very human and the Christian very distorted.
But because we are able to instantly identify 'Pat' and know who he is, because we know the current events and dynamics around faith groups, we instantly know that this cartoon 'means' the very opposite of what it actually shows and says.
It is a cartoon which mocks the idea that all Muslims must account for actions of bad Muslims. But on the surface, without the set, the setting and the context, it is a drawing of a Muslim blaming all Christians for the words of a demonic looking lunatic.

If a person did not know Pat, or world events, did not speak English and did not know America, their 'critique' of that cartoon might be that it is blaming Christians, who are portrayed as less human than the Muslim in a way that might seem unfair.
But because we do know Pat and the events and the language and the culture, we know it is a cartoon that is actually about hypocrisy. It is about equity, not blame, about double standards against Muslims. But in a bad translation of words and cultural elements, it very easily could be described as the very opposite of what it really is. That is the nature of satirical comics.
So take a look and try to wear the imagination cap and see this comic as you might see it if you were from Mars. If you can.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026085918