Legal Commentary

the New Yorker Cover: obama, satire, and the PC Police

By David A. Giacalone

(full)

Now do you get it? (Big Hint: note the inserted “winkie” emoticons in red.) Yes, Barry Blitt’s July 21, 2008 New Yorker cover portrays and satirizes “The Politics of Hate” and Fear.

As Monica Guzman at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Big Blog (”The trouble with satire,” July 14, 2008), notes: “The New Yorker is no right-wing rag; the cover is meant to satirize the notion that Obama is all those things he has had to repeat he isn’t - Muslim, pro-terrorist, unpatriotic - capped off with the fist tap heard around the world. . . . [Censoring it to avoid its misinterpretation or mis-use] risks a dumbing down of our more complex messages. And maybe that would be ceding too much ground to fools.”

 

 

Prof. Yabut and the entire f/k/a Gang has for years been bemoaning our emoticonally-addicted, insight-challenged society’s inability to discern satire when they see it or hear it, as well as the related, knee-jerk, low-EQ application of Political Correctness Bans (PCBs) to anything that might offend anybody (on the Left). On the other hand, we’ve steadfastly maintained a No Emoticon Zone for this weblog and our personal correspondence. As a result, we’ve had to post our Implied Disclaimers (which include PMS — Pardon My Satire), and often worried about our misinterpreted email.

As noted in my Comment at The Legal Underground weblog in December 2004:

I am always amazed at otherwise intelligent people who believe that the writer of satire condones the conduct described. I guess we live in a world where authors [and cartoonists] need to use lots of emoticons to keep the readers in tune.

The whole media universe is covering the July 21, 2008 New Yorker cover, so we need not add much more to the discussion. See, e.g., “Obama and the New Yorker” (MSNBC.com, July 15, 2008); “Satirical or Offensive, you decide” (NPR, July 15, 2008); AP/WaPo Video clip; also, “Want Obama in a Punch Line? First Find a Joke” (New York Times, Bill Carer, July 15, 2008). If you have not yet heard the npr interview with David Remnick, “New Yorker editor defends Obama Cover” (All Things Considered, July 14, 2008), it’s highly recommended, as is “It’s Funny How Humor Is So Ticklish,” (Washington Post, by Phillip Kennicott, July 15, 2008), and Ann Althouse’s “why can’t we joke about Obama?” (July 15, 2008).

FYI: The Huffington Post tells us:

The magazine explains at the start of its news release previewing the issue: “On the cover of the July 21, 2008, issue of the The New Yorker, in ‘The Politics of Fear,’ artist Barry Blitt satirizes the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama’s campaign.”

Just to prove how important the issue is, I’ve broken my own no-emoticon pledge, using what we call the “winkie” [;-)] to help folks understand that the cover is satire. We don’t expect to change lots of minds, but we do hope to change one — that of Barack Obama.

Dear Barack,

I’m a supporter of yours, so I hope you’ll take this constructive advice in the spirit it is given.

Please call off your PC Police. Maybe your campaign can get away with being hyper-sensitive and vigilant about what you yourselves say — making sure you don’t offend others with your words or posture. But, please, don’t use the same standard for words and images aimed at or depicting you — especially when they are in fact good satire that make important points in support of your candidacy.

The New Yorker cover is not “tasteless and offensive.” The Guardian says you simply shrugged your shoulders when asked about the image, but then your “spokespersons” got on their PC high-horses and condemned it. You need to muzzle your staff. Whiners aren’t winners. For a real Mensch with a high EQ, taking a punch should include taking a Punch-like cartoon.

Now, get out there and win this election!

s/ David Giacalone and the f/k/a Gang

afterwords (2 PM, July 15): See “Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself” (The Borowitz Report, July 15, 2008)

mother?s email
X?s after
the :-)

????????? Hilary Tann - Upstate Dim Sum

empty bottle
a few words
I would like to take back

????????? by John Stevenson - Quiet Enough (2004)

twilight
the words of his letter
darker and darker

?????????.. by Roberta Beary - Woodnotes #29; A New Resonance 2

Full post as published by f/k/a . . . on July 15, 2008 (boomark / email).