I’m sure by now many of you have heard about the cover of the July 21st issue of The New Yorker magazine, and the mayhem that it has created. According to the magazine’s editor, this image is a satirical look at the scare tactics that have been used against the presidential candidate and his wife, but it sounds like Americans are not getting the joke. A spokesman for the Obama campaign, Bill Burton, called the cover tasteless and offensive. Even John McCain (who once attempted to link Obama with terrorists) joined the Obama campaign in calling the cover Barry Blitt created “tastless and offensive.” And, there are reports that people are cancelling their subscriptions to the magazine.
So here’s my thing, there are a few things we have to take into consideration here. First, the magazine we’re talking about is not TIME magazine, it’s The New Yorker (known for it’s satirical cartoons). You can’t be shocked when a comedian tells an offensive joke, the same goes for The New Yorker. Second, this is nothing new. Fox News anchors have been making comments linking Barack Obama to terrorism, and calling for Michelle Obama to be lynched since before Obama won the Democratic primaries. It makes me wonder why that went unnoticed, yet this doesn’t? Third (and last), what makes a joke a joke is that it is an exaggeration of the truth (in this case, the truth being that Michelle has been depicted as a Black militant, and Barack called unpatriotic and a terrorist). The New Yorker managed to sum up all the rumors in one picture. Is it offensive? Depends on your sense of humor. I often find myself being extra skeptical anytime the American public gets upset about something.
I’ll admit, The New Yorker could have probably found a way to make sure that even the most dimwitted person could pick up on the joke. And, of course, this was also just another way to get more people interested in their magazine (especially with readership of magazines not being high to begin with, let’s not forget we are now in a recession, so it’s even worse. . . and any publicity is good publicity). With that being said, anyone who didn’t already think Obama was a terrorist would not be swayed by this cover, just as anyone who was already convinced Obama was a terrorist would not be swayed by the most logical of arguments.
In this country we have a tendency to get outraged by something pretty simple for a while, then forget about it (anyone remember Justin Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson’s nipple?). So, by next week, this issue will be at the bottom of someone’s bird cage long forgotten. I will say this, I’m glad something finally got everyone on the same page with regards to saying these depictions are asinine. Now we can get back to jokes about Bush.
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