Monday, July 14, 2008
Shockingly accurate political cartoon
8 comments
What does everyone think about the cover of the new issue of The New Yorker? If you can't tell, it's a cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as terrorists. People are in an uproar over it, but The New Yorker maintains that this is just a satire. Editor David Remnick's response was:
"Our cover ... combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are. The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall - all of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to the absurd. And that's the spirit of this cover."
I understand that this is a satire, and it's pretty accurate considering how many ignorant people have decided to not vote for Obama solely because they think he is a Muslim and because his name sounds like "Osama." On the other hand, I also understand why people are offended.
Still though, I don't find this image to be nearly as offensive as all the bullshit that Fox News and other right-wing commentators have slung at the candidate and his wife during this entire election. Maybe a shocking image like this is what we needed to help stop the incessant slander.
Posts
July 15, 2008 at 12:30 AM
I love that the world continues to equate "Muslim" with "terrorist". Yes, many terrorists have been Muslim. But will the stereotype ever end?
I do have to say I laughed when a news anchor commented on the fist-bump heard round the world: "Fist bump? TERRORIST FIST JAB??" it gave me lulz
July 15, 2008 at 2:31 PM
Yeah I don't get the terrorist fist bump thing? This cover is not funny. It just reinforces what people were thinking in the back of their minds.
July 15, 2008 at 2:33 PM
The fist bump was from when Barack finished a speech and he went over and gave his wife a fist bump. It's not really supposed to be funny, more a reflection of all the shit they have received from ignorant sources.
July 15, 2008 at 2:53 PM
The fist bump was when it was officially announced that Barack would be the Democratic candidate.. and if you really want to read into it, I read some article that said that it was more of a "we did it" gesture (as opposed to what many other candidate's wives do, which is more of a reassuring pat on the shoulder). I don't know, this is what the article said. It said that the Obamas treat each other more like equals, and that this success is just as much hers as it is his.
July 16, 2008 at 2:55 AM
I think the reason people choose to make the "fist bump" an issue is that it can be seen as an aspect of Black American culture... and we all know how many of the white American population fears anything with slight "Blackness".
But I do agree - this image only seems to be furthering the negative stereotypes and in no way do I believe the artist had noble intentions in creating it.
July 16, 2008 at 9:29 AM
I don't know... I think it's such an over-the-top parody that people won't look at it and be like OMG THAT MUST BE HOW THEY REALLY ARE... I think it sort of exposes the ridiculousness of all the criticisms the Obamas get. Then again, it would still depend on who made it, and their intentions.
July 16, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Maybe I would question the artist's original intent had this cartoon just been posted on some website or something. However, The New Yorker has a reputation for being a political satire magazine. So I really believe that their only intentions were to reflect the stereotypes that are floating around our culture surrounding this election.
July 16, 2008 at 4:52 PM
Honestly, if you hear someone say, "Barack might be a Muslim," or "Michelle Obama doesn't support America" just by itself, it wouldn't come across as smear as much as it should. I feel that the New Yorker was trying to put all of the smears together in one cartoon to show just how ridiculous they all are, and to make a point to the right-wing media that they need to stop trying to intimidate and using fear to convince us to vote for a president exactly the same as George Bush, but old as dirt. If anyone looks at this cover and thinks to themselves that this is how the Obamas really are, then they need to educate themselves about politics a little better. Honestly, would we really let a terrorist become a nominee?! We need to get real and start focusing on the issues, not personal attacks, and that is what the New Yorker was trying to get across.