The Editor of The New Yorker magazine has stated that the cover depiction of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were purely satirical. The depiction is so over the top that, per the Editor, it is too self evident that it is satirical.
But here are the problems –
(1) Social Science research has shown that quite often human beings make assessments about others in matters of seconds. Since the cover-picture is a stand-alone feature (any explanation buried in the text of the magazine may or may not be seen), it is clearly impressionistic and the impression is simply negative an unacceptable.
(2) Like beauty and humor, you recognize satire when you see one or hear one. In this case, the cover-depiction does not come off as satire without long explanation.
(3) Since almost 1 in 10 Americans think that Barack Obama may be of Islamic faith, the cover depiction is most unfortunate.
Such being the case, there is likely to be greater probability of the cover picture-depiction confirming the false stereo-types and may be diffusing it further.
Tags: Barack Obama, Humor, Michelle Obama, Satire, The New Yorker
