Hall of Distortion Mirrors
Public vs. private perception
"We'd see more clearly if we looked straight at each other"
The cartoon was drawn by John Frith and published on June 1, 1963 in the The Herald (retrieved from:http://frith.moadoph.gov.au/the-cartoons/)
As the leaders of the two most powerful nations in the world during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev found it necessary to work together through backdoor channels and private letters. Despite the working relationship the two leaders fostered over the years in private and their desires to find peaceful solutions to real problems, they were forced to maintain a very different demeanor in the public eye in order to advance their political agendas around the world. As a result, it was difficult for both leaders to speak openly with one another concerning issues such as a nuclear test ban treaty and disarmament despite their personal desires. Both men were, in many cases, willing to work with one another to find peaceful solutions to what appeared to be insurmountable differences in the public eye.
As the leaders of the two most powerful nations in the world during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev found it necessary to work together through backdoor channels and private letters. Despite the working relationship the two leaders fostered over the years in private and their desires to find peaceful solutions to real problems, they were forced to maintain a very different demeanor in the public eye in order to advance their political agendas around the world. As a result, it was difficult for both leaders to speak openly with one another concerning issues such as a nuclear test ban treaty and disarmament despite their personal desires. Both men were, in many cases, willing to work with one another to find peaceful solutions to what appeared to be insurmountable differences in the public eye.
Questions to consider:
- Why are both John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev portrayed as evil or demonic figures in the mirror?
- How does the "distortion" in the mirror differ from what appears to be reality?
- To what extent would the "distortion" effect the way these two leaders were able to work with one another?