On Pride & Prejudice in
New Yorker Magazine
The recent flap over the New Yorker cover, depicting Barack and Michelle Obama in terrorist garb giving each other the now infamous “fist bump” got me to thinking. Although I personally feel that it was tasteless, inappropriate, and served no purpose except to perpetuate false perceptions of the Obama’s, I do believe that the publication and the artist had every right to create it.
For countless decades, Africans, African Americans, Negroes, Coloreds and Darkies have fought for the right to be seen as regular human beings. The mission has always been to receive equal rights and be viewed just like any other member of a civil society. With that right comes one of America’s longstanding political rites of passage: the satirical cartoon, commentary, comedy skit and anything else with a lampooning edge to it. Of course, we are always a bit sensitive (maybe too much) over every gaffe. Poor Don Imus can’t even take his coffee black without some kind of uproar.
It is the same with films. We lament the lack of positive, realistic portrayals of our experiences, and rightly so. On UTC a few weeks ago, our resident film critic Edwardo Jackson keenly categorized Tyler Perry as “the black Adam Sandler.” I wholeheartedly agreed with that statement. Difference is you don’t see white activist groups going after Sandler for making whites look too stupid or gross. They take him for what he is. A comedian making movies he thinks are funny and grab attention.
The point is that the mainstream culture has the good fortune to have variety. They have everything from “Atonement” to “Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” They can choose farce or highbrow fare, and no one blinks an eye. Yes, those with the power to “green light” film projects should afford African-Americans the same variety of choices. Agreed.
But true equality is when we can have both 100 million dollar grossing epics like “The Color Purple” and downright dumbness such as “The Cookout” and come out no worse for wear. It is about balance. Just because we have always been oppressed, doesn’t mean that every mention of any stereotype has to be dissected within inches of its life.
This man is running for president of the UNITED States. No matter how false that “united” part is for us and our ancestors, we are here. We’re subject to all kinds of commentary, and that’s ok. As long as it is not malicious or blatantly out of bounds, why not try to see the artist’s point? Everyone (myself included) was so caught up in the image itself, we didn’t ask what the intent was. Art is subjective. It is supposed to provoke debate and passion and make you think. Admittedly, this artist didn’t get it right, and perhaps caused more harm than good. But, that isn’t the point. The right for this image to be printed shouldn’t be in question. I don’t begrudge an artist his right to make a statement. Beyond the rhetoric, the artist said that he was actually making fun of the overzealous media that is throwing the kitchen sink at Obama. Now, that’s a valid point that we can all agree on. Using art to express that is its essential purpose.
Equality is nothing if we cannot be equally made fun of.
Ellene Miles has worked as an entertainment publicist for more than 6 years. Her collections of rants are featured exclusively on UTC for the good of the people.
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