Hanson imagined as Greek Siren in Knight’s Victorian voters cartoon

By now, a lot of you will have heard of the blockbuster new movie The Odyssey, by British director Christopher Nolan. You may have even seen the three-hour marathon epic flick. It is based on the Ancient Greek poem by Homer about a Greek king named Odysseus (Ulysses to his close friends) and his 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan wars*.

On his way back home to be reunited with his wife and son, Odysseus is delayed. He sure is – and no, he wasn’t at the pub with his mates, he actually had some good excuses if at times they sound a little far-fetched. He is held captive by a nymph* called Calypso, then by a giant Cyclops* that eats some of his men, a goddess who turns more of his men into pigs, ocean whirlpools and a multi-headed monster called the Scylla*.

Another challenging moment is when he and his men sail past the island of the Sirens, a group of birdlike women whose songs offer sailors the promise of divine wisdom and great knowledge, but in fact lure them to destruction on the rocky shores.

Odysseus is aware of this peril* beforehand and has his men fill their ears with wax so they cannot hear the enticements* of the Sirens. He also has his men tie him to the mast of the ship so he cannot be lured to his demise* by the hypnotic calls. Amazing stuff!

I love using the great stories from literature in my political cartoons as metaphors* and analogies* to help describe political events. Greek mythology* is full of such tales, in particular the Sirens in the Odyssey. I thought I might be able to use them in a cartoon about what is going on in Australian politics at the moment.

Even though she has been around since the 1990s, we have seen the meteoric* rise of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation Party in recent opinion polls. Such is her approval rating, One Nation is the most popular party nationally, as well as in many states.

In Victoria there is a state election in November. The Labor Government there has been in power for 12 years and are on the nose* with the electorate. Led by Premier Dan Andrews for a decade, then followed by his deputy Jacinta Allan and now Ben Carroll, the stench of corruption, massive state debt and soaring crime sees the Labor Party imperilled at the next election.

The Liberals are starting to get their act together, with young Jess Wilson doing a better job of leading them out of the wilderness then previous Opposition Leaders, but it is Hanson that is making the biggest inroads in voter attention.

While One Nation is a Queensland based party and never had a lot to do with Victoria, due to voter dissatisfaction with both Labor and Liberal, people have turned to One Nation and Pauline’s populist* policy positions. She is not a polished political speech-maker by a long shot, but a lot of ordinary Australians see this as a plus: Hanson is one of them.

Pauline Hanson reminded me of the Sirens. Her call to Australians that we had to adopt more conservative policies was anathema* to the progressive side of politics, but it was converting a lot of people who were disillusioned* by the traditional parties and who were now listening to Hanson’s call and were tempted to vote for her.

So when Hanson visited Melbourne this week to unveil her state party leader and candidates for the November election, I thought this was the time to bring out my Sirens idea. I drew Pauline lying on a rocky reef, her flame red hair and One Nation orange flowing robe standing out against the green sea.

Sailing past is new Victorian Labor Premier Ben Carroll aboard the Labor vote. Pauline is gesturing towards the vessel, waving and obviously singing the praises of her policies, hoping to lure Labor voters to her side and destroy the Labor government at the next election. Tied to the mast, a panicked Premier Carroll pleads with his crew not to listen. Will they listen to him or the Siren?

This November we will see if the Victorian election is a Greek tragedy for the incumbent* Labor Party!

POLL

GLOSSARY

• Trojan wars: a legendary 10-year conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia, dated by later Greek authors to the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war, one of the key events in Greek mythology
• nymph: In Greek and Roman mythology, nymphs were minor immortals among the gods who appeared as beautiful young women in natural settings
• Calypso: a sea nymph in Homer’s Odyssey who keeps Odysseus seven years on the island of Ogygi
• Cyclops: a giant with one eye in Ancient Greek stories
• Scylla: a sea nymph of Greek mythology who was transformed into a sea monster and believed to drown sailors navigating the Strait of Messina
• peril: danger, a cause of risk, harm or loss
• enticements: something very pleasing and tempting offered by someone to persuade someone else to do something
• demise: the death, failure or end of something
• metaphors: an imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else that is the same in a particular way
• analogies: a comparison between things that have similar features, often used to help explain a principle or idea
• mythology: myths in general and popular beliefs that are probably untrue
• meteoric: very fast progress to becoming famous, successful, or popular
• on the nose: an expression meaning unpopular, a play on words meaning people have gone off something
• populist: a person or a politician who is mainly interested in the problems and needs of ordinary people
• anathema: someone or something intensely disliked or loathed
• disillusioned: disappointed and unhappy because of discovering the truth about something or someone that you liked or respected
• incumbent: the politician or political party who holds a particular elected position at the present time

EXTRA READING

Labor’s Ben Carroll gets top job in Victoria

One Nation’s win: what it means

Andy Burnham Britain’s new PM

QUICK QUIZ

1. What is the new film The Odyssey based on?
2. What is the name of the nymph who holds Odysseus captive?
3. Who are the Sirens?
4. How long has Labor been in power in Victoria?
5. Why does Mark’s cartoon show new Premier Ben Carroll tied to a mast like Odysseus?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Reading between the lines
In his explainer, Mark Knight does not explicitly state his own opinion about Pauline Hanson. He merely explains the idea behind his cartoon. If you were to “read between the lines,” what do you think that Knight’s thoughts on the politician might be? Explain your thinking.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
In the news article we learn of some of the challenges Odysseus faced on his journey. If you were able to add to Homer’s poem, what are three other things that could happen to Odysseus on his way home?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part One. Think about what the rest of the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Visual Communication Design, Critical and Creative Thinking