The New Yorker Defended Its Controversy Cover

Image Source: Google.com

On July 21^st, 2008, The New Yorker's cover featured Barrack Obama dressed in a robe and turban and his wife, Michelle Obama dressed in military attire, standing in the White House's Oval table with an American flag burning in the fire place with a portrait of the Al-Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden above.

In the picture, the couple also give each other a fist bump which is a common greeting they normally gave each other in the public but a Fox News television presenter once called a "terrorist fist jab." (AFP, New York)


New Yorkers' Defense

Despite the stir among the public, the illustrator remained to defend his cover by stating that "I think the idea that the Obamas are branded as unpatriotic (let alone as terrorists) in certain sectors is preposterous," Blitt told the Huffington Post website.

"It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is," he said.

"Our cover 'The Politics of Fear' combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are," said New Yorker editor David Remnick.

"The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall -- all of them echo one attack or another," he said.

"Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. And that's the spirit of this cover." (AFP, New York)


Ethics in Publishing & Context

According to Michelle Powers (2007), ethical communication is promoting communication that requires caring and mutual understanding that respects the unique needs and characteristics of the individual. Besides, KVL (p.19, 2006) stated that inappropriate visuals can lead to misinterpretation and can lead to 'serious potential threat' to society and diverse culture. The New Yorker failed to do so as they did not access a situation with respect to an audience's social, cultural or emotional sensitivity especially the Muslim community and causes a stir among the publics.


Cultural Context

Schirato and Yell (2000) stated that cultural which acts as the external influence to text which collectively shared by society and situational contexts which consists of the parts necessary to the text are combined to produce any discourse whether is text-speech or written or both. Therefore, it is important that the editors and writers take notice on their readers and the cultural and situational background they are in.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. "Most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree," he said in a statement.

Conclusion

I don't think the cover is appropriate due to its sensitivity in cultural context and it might causes displeasure among the public espcially the Muslim community.

Reference

Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. 2006, Reading Images: Visual Communication, p.19.

'Obama Campaign Outrage by New Yorker Cover', July 2008, AFP, New York, viewed at 2nd June 2009, http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkF71Ri2guGdCg_LKmNga69rgoRw

Powers, M 2007, How to Practice Ethical Communication, viewed at 2nd June 2009, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/354613/how_to_practice_ethical_communication.html?cat=9

Schirato, T & Yell, S 2000, Cultural Studies: Communication and Cultural Literacy, viewed at 2nd June 2009, http://books.google.com.my/booksid=Js46RoWSYlEC&dq=schirato+and+yell&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=rUIn20tLOs&sig=pjbdkQLSOpz1c1vn6jBvMPuKgDM&hl=en&ei=I8srSuOoG4z6kAWQwpDwCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7