Get Your War On - David Rees

A satirical political cartoon series using repurposed clip art to critique early 2000s American foreign policy.

Get Your War On is a series of political cartoons created by David Rees, which gained widespread attention during the early 2000s. The work utilises a minimalist aesthetic, employing repurposed clip art from the 1970s to frame biting, satirical commentary on United States foreign policy, the War on Terror, and the political climate of the George W. Bush administration. By pairing mundane, office-worker imagery with profanity-laden dialogue, Rees creates a jarring contrast that reflects the absurdity and frustration felt by many during this period.

The visual structure is repetitive and grid-like, mirroring the monotony of the corporate environment from which the source imagery is drawn. Each panel functions as a self-contained unit of critique, often featuring characters engaged in office tasks while discussing complex geopolitical events with cynical detachment. This juxtaposition of the banal and the catastrophic serves to strip away the formal language of political discourse, exposing the underlying chaos and incompetence perceived by the artist.

As a piece of cultural commentary, the work captures a specific moment in American history. It avoids traditional editorial cartooning tropes, opting instead for a deadpan delivery that relies on the tension between the static, dated illustrations and the urgent, contemporary text. The series was initially published online and later collected in print, becoming a notable example of how digital-era satire could influence public conversation. The stark red and white colour scheme reinforces the aggressive, urgent nature of the content, ensuring the text remains the primary focus for the viewer. This print offers a direct look at the intersection of political dissent and graphic art, providing a historical record of the era's social climate through a distinct, uncompromising visual lens.