Talk:Michael Leunig

Description of cartoon style
How is Leunig a 'very different cartoonist'? If anything, I'd say he was extremely typical of Australian cartoonists other than being rather more successful and slightly more left wing. As for his prayers being 'treasured'... I mean really. Unless anyone leaps to it's defence I'm going to edit these. --RaiderAspect 14:30, 26 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, most Australian cartoonists could be classified as towards the left, but that does not mean they are much of a muchness. There is no cartoonist in the world who could match Leunig's magical, lyrical and tender themes, which are so full of the sweetest whimsy, and abide in a created world of ducks, seals of approval, toucans, lonely people looked at with compassion and humour, curly hats and so much more, especially in his early work, which I first read in Nation Review. Barry Humphries wrote a very perceptive introduction to one of his early compilations. There is really no one like Leunig, he is a genuine treasure. It is a pity that there are none of his cartoons in the article, as they could have given readers a taste of his special genius. In fact, I was disappointed to see that there are virtually no photos of many of Australia's best known writers, artists and cartoonists.


 * Oh, and I think that the article gives an unbalanced view when it dwells overmuch on a very small number of political controversies relating to his work. Leunig is not an agitator, or a propagandist, even if he has stirred up some commotion from time to time. He has produced many collections of cartoons, almost all dealing with existentialist themes, but without the nihilism or pretentiousness of many who have dealt with such ideas. There is very little there to suggest that Leunig is a party hack or a someone trying to upset people. Myles325a (talk) 04:31, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Add section on controversies
I believe that there should be a section on controversies as there are multiple examples. In addition to the recent Age cartoon, I recall another one from 2002:

During Israel's Operation Defensive Shield, the editor of the Age refused to publish a cartoon of Leunig's that contrasted a Jew entering a concentration camp during World War II with an Israeli soldier entering a refugee camp. This was exhibited and discussed on ABC's Media Watch. Here are the links:

--Viclamb 11:55, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Transcript of segment
 * The Cartoon

There was also the "Suckhole of steel" cartoon. John Dalton 22:51, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Also need to cover his anti-vax stance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.182.91.94 (talk) 16:14, 3 September 2016 (UTC)

Regarding Leunig's antivaccination nonsense (which I suppose wiki would call "controversy"), the Guardian covered it quite thoroughly. is the Guardian no longer considered a referable source?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/19/i-dont-want-to-go-on-leunigs-anti-vaccination-mental-vacation — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.99.55.177 (talk) 08:43, 6 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia style guides discourage controversy/criticism sections because they tend to get bloated with all sorts of sensational content. It is better to just have a section his career and add an notable controversies with balance int o the text. Having a little ghetto for all the bad stuff about a subject is very poor style. Ashmoo (talk) 12:01, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Removed Text
I've removed the following text.


 * Leunig has been criticised repeatedly for misogyny, including attacks on working mothers, women soldiers and male-female relationships .  Leunig has also been attacked for anti-semitism, most notoriously in 2002, when  The Age refused to run a cartoon equating Israeli actions with the Holocaust.


 * The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has also provided considerable airtime to Leunig to disseminate his views on a range of political and philosophical issues, despite his lack of expertise in any areas he is asked to discuss.

Quite simply the allegations made in the text are WP:POV and the references do not back them up. Agnte 13:58, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

A summary of the edit can be seen here Agnte 22:13, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Block/Lock
Is it possible to block Beucephalia OR Pussycat69 from making any changes, since they are just vandalising? If not, how about locking the article until they go away? Any suggestions? &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by D3j4vu (talk • contribs).

Block & controversies
a well-written section on the controversies would be fine, but what we're getting is vandalism and POV. I'd support a lock after it's been rewritten. &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by 210.23.138.75 (talk • contribs).
 * I'm not sure how useful the semi-protection will be but a number of editors are watching the article, I'm sure we'll be able to keep things tight. Agnte 10:25, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree with you there, hopefully we can keep it clean and not get too personal about it —d3j4vu
 * A section on criticisms would be a good idea. Please do not over-protect this self-indulgent and over-indulged Victorian artist. It is astonishing that no one has seen fit to mention the Olympic Games 'boy and his duck' fiasco, which irritated and mortified sizeable sections of the Australian public and was, no doubt, an enormous puzzle for the rest of the world. (A big mistake by the local organisers of the Games.) Ombudswiki (talk) 11:35, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Leunig Interview
There is a very good interview with leunig in an australian book called "heroes" (not the pilger book) or something like that. the book also has interviews with other australians. I cannot find the reference for the book since I dont know the exact title or author. In the interview, leunig discusses the reaction he has received from readers. Also has a lot of good biographical material.

m3b

Making a goose of myself!
Just after the opening of the 2006 Commonwealth Games I was talking to a family member who their knows ducks and geese and who swore to me that it was a goose rather than a duck that was used. Accordingly, I inserted, "(A live white goose was substituted, presumably because it would be easier to handle and better visible by cameras.)" That person has since seen footage of the duck in question and has recognised the error of the ways. Accordingly, I too must take responsibility and apologise to the Wikipedia community in general and the Games organisers in particular. Peter Ellis 11:21, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

The Beucephalia edit
Am very amused that my persistent efforts to provide some balance to the hagiography that this entry consists of were met with claims of "POV" and lack of evidentiary support. And then you complain about me vandalising it! Much simpler simply to vandalise than to bother assembling the ample evidence that Leunig has attracted regular criticism for misogyny and anti-semitism, only for it to be rejected as not fitting the glowing endorsement the article is clearly intended to be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.9.200.3 (talk • contribs)


 * Are you willing to discuss the edit you are trying to make? The edit has problems: it blanks large portions of the article, and it has rather obvious POV issues (I can see you dislike Leunig with a passion, and it shouldn't be possible to see the editor's bias in an article!). I have reverted the edit a couple of times and I'm not entirely happy doing so. But your style of blanking, big undiscussed rewrites, sockpuppetry, and refusal to discuss and compromise gives little choice. Please see the the Wikipedia policy on verifiability and neutrality. Is there some relevant verifiable encyclopedic fact you want reflected in the article? Weregerbil 10:52, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

The problem is simply that you Leunig fans are incapable of accepting any objective evidence that Leunig's cartoons have on occasion reflected anti-semitic and sexist views. You stick to this absurd claim that you are being objective while rejecting anything that inconveniences your installation of Leunig in some sort of pantheon of great Australians. My favourite example was the patronising clown who tried to deal with Leunig's sexism by saying his notorious childcare cartoon had been criticised by "feminists" (whoever they are). As if you'd have to be a "feminist" to be offended by abuse of working women.

But that's fine, stick to your hagiography, enjoy it. Just don't annoy those of us with some critical faculties by pretending to be objective.


 * This talk page is not a soapbox. Either answer the question Is there some relevant verifiable encyclopedic fact you want reflected in the article? or go away. User talk:Hesperian 01:03, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I look forward to seeing how you Leunig fans will cope with his latest disgusting example of sexism in The Age of 1 November. I anticipate you'll duck (ha!) the issue by denying any implied or explicit criticism of Leunig as "POV". Let's see some rigour from you, rather than defensive censorship.

Fair use rationale for Image:Gyanleunig.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 16:51, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Why the Agro?
I thought that these pages were supposed to be impartial, not a dog fight. Leunig has been alive for over half a century, and I can remember his work from when I was teenager, and because he is not set in stone, his ideas and opinions have changed over time. Some his work I love, some I don't like at all, and some I think is ho-hum. HOWEVER the job of a cartoonist is to provoke thought, so apparently he is good at his job. Coralhue (talk) 04:14, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

External links modified
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Improvements needed
The article is currently tagged as needing better balance. Leunig has been unafraid to express his opinions on a number of subjects, and I am sure there is ample published documentation both from him and from critics, to supply adequate references.

Also, there are some honours and cultural collaborations that are missing from the article. I know that there was a stage show based on some of his cartoon characters at the Sydney Opera House or some other national venue in the 1990s, and a series of colourful Australia Post stamps and postcards featuring his characters in 1998. Reify-tech (talk) 19:17, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

Leunig and Anglicanism
Contrary to what has been claimed, Michael Leunig has not "been associated with the Anglican Communion" (whatever such a vague statement is meant to suggest) in any formal capacity. And the fact that one of his books is called A Common Prayer is not clear evidence that the book in any way represents his personal "interpretation" of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as such. I have removed both of these claims from the article and they should not be included again in any form without any clear, reliable and verifiable evidence to support them. Yahboo (talk) 06:54, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Links under subheading 'Works in the Australian National Bibliographic Database'
Just a note to the author -- the ISBNs and years are good info but none of the links given under subheading 'Works in the Australian National Bibliographic Database' seem to be valid anymore - they just come up with 'page not found'. I can only assume the actual National Library of Australia rearranged their website since this section was written. Needs an update or edit when possible. ScorpionSquadron (talk) 12:17, 4 September 2020 (UTC)