The New Yorker decided to make some noise in the slow month of July. I got to see if I can find a free copy somewhere lying around. Or else I have to get one from the newsstand. Now all the pundits have something to talk about, and lame bloggers like myself have something to say. Actually I really don't. I think this is satire right? Right.The cover jpeg is from the official website.
Ah I just fell into the lame blogger trap ;)
ReplyDeleteBut always the contrarian, I again disagree with you this time round. And you know that I'm no fan of Obama.
If the cartoon shows Obama as a flip-flop or an empty suit, then it would have been high satire. Showing him as a Bin Laden wannabe?
Nah.
I do very much agree with you though that the New Yorker is simply after controversy for controversy's sake to stir up an otherwise slow summer month. That they resort to using common slander for this purpose is rather sad for a snobbish literary magazine.
Just added some further thoughts on the distinction between satire and slander into my post. I think by now the emerging consensus is indeed that the New Yorker scored a dud. Not that it really matters, as it's all just storms in a swill bucket stirring up a stink.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why the New Yorker cover portrayed Obama that way, i.e. being friendly to terrorists against America [I know he's for immediate withdrawal from Iraq but he advocates more GI's being flown in to Afghanistan]. Is that something related to a particular view of one of the storytellers in this month's issue?
ReplyDeletesnowdrops:
ReplyDeleteDon't lump yourself with lame blogger like me .... Your posts are much better written and thought out. I see your points but I just treated it as a joke, a bad one.
sid:
If you read up on the US media then you know the right always like to remind people that Obama has a Muslim or Middle eastern sounding middle name Hussein, was sent to a Muslim school in Jakarta at a young age. Essentially he is portrayed as a Muslim instead of an American Christian. And his wife is some angry black militant who for the first time was proud to be an American....that kind of things. The cartoon is meant to be a satire but apparently it failed on many levels as snowdrops rightfully and eloquently pointed out. It wasn't funny and it wasn't a satire, it just simply reinforces the misconceptions.... My personal view is it's just a joke and I won't take it seriously one way or another. I mean talking about it is the most serious I can do.
I thought the New Yorker was above that and could do better than that.
ReplyDeleteThank you, buddy, for enlightening me on such an appalling background of American politics.
After all, both you and Snowdrops were right. I don't find it funny at all, either. I'm disappointed with the New Yorker this time.