Blogs, Jazmyne Young and Donny Lumpkins,
YO! Youth Outlook Multimedia, Jul 16, 2008
From Bunny to Dinosaurs
In my world, things pertaining to the upcoming Presidential election are about as up in the air as a fluffy cloud turning from a bunny to a dinosaur right before your eyes. Yet, you know what they say, in every bizarre cloud is bizarre silver lining.
For me that bizarre silver lining is the most recent New Yorker cover with cartoon versions of Barack and Michelle Obama doing the now infamous “Fist bump.” It portrays Barack dressed in a turban and sandals and an afro-ed Michelle in boots and army pants with an AK-47 hanging off of her shoulder padded arms.
If you take a sec to look at the pic, things start to reveal themselves to you like one of those “which one of these things doesn't belong’’ panels you used to find in coloring books. For instance, in the background of the New Yorker cartoon there is a picture of Osama Bin Laden on the wall over a fireplace where the American flag is burning.
When I first saw it I couldn’t help but let out a: ‘Word?!’ Confused is a severe understatement of my initial shock. The picture looks like it was done by one of those guys that you would find at a local fair who draw manic smiles on over sized heads that are supposed to resemble celebrities. (If you give him 15 bucks he will draw you hanging out of a tiny car waving with one hand and holding cotton candy in the other.
People don’t seem too happy about the picture and I’m sure it will be ripped off of the magazine's bindings. It will most likely also be tacked on many a bulletin board confirming many different things for many different people. For some it will be a affirmation of their fears, for others it's a confirmation of their prejudices and for any one with a twisted since of humor its just a funny picture.
The dudes at the New Yorker seem to be sticking by the picture. I have a sneaky feeling the New Yorker is getting exactly what they want- a bunch of free press.
- Donny Lumpkins
We're Too Sensitive for this Satire
When I first saw the latest cover of New Yorker, I thought, ‘Oh hell no!”
I wasn’t sure if my shock was enough to substantiate a decent blog, but within the past few days, the cover has got a lot of attention, mostly negative. Obama who refused to comment finally released a statement saying: “I’ve seen and heard worse. I do think that in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me instead. But that was their editorial judgment. Ultimately it’s a cartoon and not something that Americans should really be worrying about.
”
Way to be a good sport. Granted the New Yorker is known for it’s satire, but whoever drew this picture, unless they were Black themselves, should have known better. You know Black people are sensitive! Only we can poke fun at ourselves, or call each other ‘Nappy headed hoes.’ Shame on you.
- Jazmyne Young
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