Monday MADness- John Ficarra on Charlie Hebdo

In trying to explain what the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo is to a lot of Americans who had never heard of it, many news sources mentioned MAD Magazine as a comparison. One even went so far as to wonder how the American public would react if a group of gunman went into the MAD offices and gunned down the staff.

The comparison does not fit. While MAD is not afraid to take on controversial topics like religion (and does), it does so within certain boundaries. It attacks hypocrisy, abused authority, and dishonesty, not the core beliefs that people hide behind when performing those acts. MAD also make fun of Kim Kardashian, the latest Hobbit movie and has jokes about boogers. The cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo ignored boundaries and, in fact, made it a point to obliterate them. Two very different animals, but MAD isn’t without its controversial comments on hot button issues.

MAD editor John Ficarra  commented on the Charlie Hebdo massacre and what it means to those who do satire for a living for CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. Read what he has to say, he says it well.