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New Yorker "Obama" Cover Cartoon
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Posted 3 months ago Does the cover of the latest issue of the New Yorker (7/13/08) take it too far? CNN article with cartoon link below: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/ A political cartoon, a satire? Barak Obama shown in the Oval Office in Muslim attire- a portrait of bin Laden on the wall, Michelle Obama portrayed as an "angry black feminist"? I've heard recent discussions on NPR questioning why more feminists, specifically white feminists, aren't stepping up to decry that portrayal of the potential first lady that others have reported to notice aside from this cartoon. Offensive? Or a normative political joke? Secondly, as women, feminists, (assuming majority of this audience are feminists) how, specifically, do you feel about the cartoon's protrayal of Michelle Obama? Korina Anja |
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| Posted 3 months ago I am sure that this illustration was chosen BECAUSE OF the controvery that it would ignite- The more controversy= the more attention for The New Yorker. As a self- proclaimed feminist I would not prioritize this as my latest campaign to obsess over- I get way too nit picky over too many other plights honestly. This is America, and there is a right to free speech (including illustrations/art?) so even though the character depictions may be offensive- it is sadly, what is expected by the media and The New Yorker especially. We could always contact the editor of the New Yorker directly if we want to express our thoughts on this....They may have free speech, but we can't forget...so do we :) Interesting topic- Thanks for the contribution!! |
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| Posted 3 months ago The New Yorker is known for its edgy cartoons. Anyone in the public spotlight is fodder for the media. |
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| Posted 3 months ago I am hopefully assuming that people who take everything they see literally don't read the New Yorker/ Imagination. . .is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared. (J.K. Rowling) |
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| Posted 3 months ago This is satire. This is, in fact, a pro-Obama cartoon, simply lampooning the ridiculous politics of fear of the GOP. Daniela
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| Posted 3 months ago Agree with Daniela. Plus, the joke is on you if you think this is an anti-Obama cartoon. You harbor precisely the kind of mindset this cartoon is satirizing! |
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| Posted 3 months ago Bingo!!! Imagination. . .is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared. (J.K. Rowling) |
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| Posted 2 months ago I understand that it's satire. I don't like it simply for the fact that it sends that negative message to others (whether they realize it's a joke or not). The way that Obama is portrayed only adds to all the negative (and false!) rumors abt Obama - not to mention the flag burning & Bin Laden picture in the background! Some will look at it and automatically think "ha that is so true - just like the email I got about him" and give little thought to researching the topic or even reading the article. Yes, these people are doing themselves wrong by not researching the facts - yes they are being ignorant. But, those type of people are out there - and this is just playing w/ that. I don't agree with it at all. I don't like the way his wife is portrayed either - the whole thing is perpetuating a negative image to the ignorant. Also, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, even though we get the joke, it's a negative message for us too!! Also, before any of you start or continue to believe those rumors about Obama or anything else, do some research. Copy a sentence or two from those emails, blogs, etc. and google them. It's that simple. You'll find the real facts - and information to back it up. "People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel!"-Unknown |
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| Posted 2 months ago I understand the joke. I know that it is more supportive of Obama, especially when coupled with its article. I suppose that I've come to a point where, regardless of my ability to take or understand a joke, not all jokes are funny. Many are offensive and create a culture of exclusion, superiority, degradation, intolerance, and permissible violence. I've become one of those "hyper-sensative" people when it comes to gender stereotypic music lyrics and offensive jokes about women. I believe that is the first action whereby we allow violence against women. This cartoon is funny. But it does the same thing- allows for racism, sexism and cultural intolerance guised in jokes. Also, to parrot Dana and KatieJ- not everyone will understand or see the satire. My mantra: common sense is a misnomer- it is not all that common at all. How many people will see this and use it to only perpetuate their biases or misinformation? That is what scares me about this cartoon. Korina Anja |
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| Posted 2 months ago I also understand that it is satire...the only problem is dealing with "the lowest common denominator". It's like financing a car; we all know that 6.9% is virtually the same as 7%, but some customers will always only hear 6.9% as 6%. The majority of us understand satire, but there is always that group that only sees/hears the superficial and the obvious. |
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| Posted 2 months ago The majority of us understand satire, but there is always that group that only sees/hears the superficial and the obvious. Where do we draw the line? I disagree that the print media should dumb down or clarify the content of every article. I did a readability score on the article using StoryToolz, and the average grade level was 10.6. The readability factor is above that of pop magazines or the text of news programs. The article, "Osama’s Money Class" by David Brooks has a score of 11.1. Brooks is an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times. A few of the Times' articles on sports had a readability score as low as 6.7 while travel articles averaged a score of 9 through 17.1.
For more information on readability scores of best selling fiction and business books reference this website www.grokdotcom.com/topics/readability.htm. You will be surprised how low the scores are.
Literacy Statistics According to the literacy report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
About one in 20 adults in the U.S. is not literate in English
11 million Americans lack the skills to handle many everyday tasks
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| Posted 2 months ago What are people's thoughts on Michelle Obama's portrayal? An interesting follow up article: I have heard some interesting debates on NPR in regard to whether white feminists are 'looking the other way' when it comes to Mrs. Obama. Your thoughts? Korina Anja |
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| Posted 2 months ago
The media helps to perpetrate the role of a single, black female with kids as the head of the household. We know this is not so, but that image is one that is seen repeatedly on TV sitcoms. I cannot say that television does a better job of portraying white females in a better light either. Does it surprise us then that an educated black woman gets no respect from the media?
In a breakdown of the population, women still outnumber men. Even though we are as accomplished as many men, our recognition has gained less press. It was not until the 1970s, that a large number of women banded together for equalization in the workplace and demanded more rights. I do not dismiss the role of the early female suffragists or the Rosie the Riveter types who worked during WWII. They did help to forge woman's rights. Men have ruled the world since the beginning of recorded time, but the Women’s Movement is still young at 30+ years.
How do we make a difference as women? We earn an education and continue to enlighten the world. We aim to be the best that we can be. Women have made progress and we should revel in our accomplishments.
BTW, John McCain has received less press than Barack Obama, too.
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| Posted 2 months ago An article in the LA times by J. Rainy summed up the media’s point of view: “We’ve already scratched thrift, candor and brevity off the list of virtues in this presidential cycle, so why not eliminate humor too?” The article addresses the parody, or rather that the joke is not on Obama, but the nitwits and public interest villains who want to create an image of a black couple who are intelligent Harvard law grads into something foreign and un-American. The cartoonist has effectively challenged readers and the public on the concept of the “irony-challenged literalist” and the “lack of sense of humor” about it all. If we could take a step back and realize that the political system is overflowing with absurdity and irony, perhaps we wouldn’t lose the capacity to judge. Think about it, the First Amendment protects the freedom of expression, inclusive of the rights to freedom of speech and press, yet suddenly we want to censor what defines us as a democracy. The cartoonist, Barry Blitt, has a gift in drawing with intellectual insight, a brilliant provocative cartoon which brings into the light the walk with grace and appropriate “furor”, Obama effectively side stepped. Obama, with his cool, could have responded with something like: “Hey, I thought Michelle looked pretty good in camouflage” in place of his campaign saying it was “tasteless and offensive”. A columnist with Huffington Post, R. Sklar, did take The New Yorker to task for playing into the reactionary stereotypes of “anyone who’s tried to paint Obama as a Muslim, anyone who’s tried to portray Michelle as angry or a secret revolutionary out to get Whitey, anyone who has questioned their patriotism.” I grave intellectual excitement and if I need clarity upon reading 6th grade print media I’m on the internet, talking with community members or in the library feeding my brain. |
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| Posted 2 months ago
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| Posted 2 months ago Although I don't support either Obama or McCain this was extremely tacky. When the New Yorker was questioned, their reply was they didn't think it would cause such a stir. BULL! As someone who is involved in the entertainment world, the saying "There is no bad publicity" is so true. I agree with TheEverydayFeminist, this was done to create a controversy. And also agreeing with her, it is our right to have free speech. It is also our right not to buy the New Yorker or any of the products they advertise. Cindy Stand for something or else you will fall for anything |
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| Posted 2 months ago kar23 says ...
I agree, so true about the common sense quote...I could see myself being in journalism, however I could never write or publish negative images that would feed the negativy and false rumors. I am not a prude by any means, I get the joke. It's just that, when you start to realize how everything has a negative or positive affect - you're not so quick to accept/like jokes like this. "People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel!"-Unknown |
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| Posted 2 months ago Thanks Dana! We complain about society's "mind in the gutter" or ask where values have gone- but we are part of that shift. Interestingly, Vanity Fair created what I've heard called a "sibling rivalry" comeback to the New Yorker's cover- the McCain version: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/07/new-yorker-cover.html I heard a soundbite from one media outlet's coverage of this farce on a farce saying that there is a difference between portraying what McCain is (old) versus what people fear Obama to be (Muslim). Thoughts? Also, what about the way Cindy McCain is portrayed? She is the business savvy and success- yet she is seen as a stepford wife. Will we ever be able to see a first lady (or potential first lady) for who SHE is and not her husband? Have we ever been able to do that? Korina Anja |
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| Posted 2 months ago So: equal opportunity offender, or just offensive? Korina Anja |
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| Posted 2 months ago It was supposed to be a sarcastic approach to what everyone THINKS about the Obama's. Showing that once it is on paper, not only is it so far fetched from the truth but it is outright absurd that people thought this was to begin with. For instance we KNOW he is not MUSLIM (his preacher's little oopsie made that apparent) but some people still believe this and contrary to anything else will still go on with that tune until their last breath. The bad thing about sarcastic jokes is sometimes people get it and sometimes people don't. This one people did not get it because they did not want to or they needed something to say 'see I told you so' and only "read the picture" instead of the article. "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough."-Randy Pausch |
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| Posted 2 months ago Heck, each candidate should write an unbiased page on the most important issues. Each should comment on what he will REALLY do when he is in the WH. I am so tired of them flip flopping their positions on the war, economy, jobs, oil, and healthcare. If the candidates do not know where they stand, God help the rest of us voters who want to be informed--not confused by indecisiveness. Otherwise, the election will be won because the voters turned to Third Party candidates. Most Americans are tired of the op-ed speeches that confirm nothing. We need a Can Do President. |
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| Posted 2 months ago All I know is I have two brothers in the Army and one in the Airforce; two have families one is just out of high school; they are NOT just a "number' they are people Mr. Dubya and I hope whoever wins realizes that, they are NOT a number! "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough."-Randy Pausch |
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| Posted 2 months ago I hear you Laura; our oldest is in the AF. He has been to Iraq, and there are so many injuried American soldiers. Since our medical technology is greater, the military can save more lives, but their injuries remain life long challenges. I pray that your family arrives home safely as our son did. |
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| Posted about 1 month ago I don't find any of it funny! All I see is a bunch of scared people!!! |
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| Posted 19 days ago Easy: What I think is that it is a First Amendment Right. Whether in good taste or not is a different story. And politically speaking it runs on both sides of the aisle. I realize things like this are very important to many people and I respect their opinions. But for me, (respectfully) there are more issues more pressing that it's fruitless for me to sweat things like this. I also felt that way when the object of this type of "satire" was President Reagan, President Bush, President Clinton, etc. While things like this may be in bad taste, I am thankful that we have the freedom to express our views and no citizen is above that. Success Is Ours! Marie Feazell
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it. ~~~Thomas Paine~~~ |
Great post KJ. I agree with your comments. It would be a dull world if the media only spoke to the masses at large.