BY TOM TOMORROW
I keep running across the alleged truism that “if you have to explain why a joke is funny, it’s not.”
Sometimes that’s true. But sometimes a joke is not, or maybe more accurately “does not seem” funny because the reader/audience member/whatever lacks the information, reference points, perspective, and/or sense of humor to appreciate the joke.
Humor is subjective.
The McCain campaign has a new talking point :
Sen. Lindsey Graham said that a “turning point” was when Harry Reid declared the war “lost” over a year ago, and brought up an old quote from Chuck Schumer predicting that discontent with the war would lead to further Democratic gains. “The Democratic Party built a political strategy around us losing the war in Iraq,” Graham said.
McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann joined in: “Senator Obama seems to think losing a war will help him win an election.”
Well, it certainly worked for Bush in 2004.
So The New Yorker features a cover showing Obama as a Muslim and his wife as a militant radical, sharing a fist bump as a flag burns in the fireplace. The point is immediately obvious: these are the caricatures of the Obamas that the right has been trying to draw from the start of this election season. It’s not wacky, over-the-top, laugh-out-loud satire, but few New Yorker covers are. The intent is clear enough, and is obviously not to mock the Obamas.
Personally I’m not sure why the conversation about this goes any further than, “Oh yes, that was a mildly amusing reference to those crazy right wing emails everyone has heard about,” before moving on to other topics. But it’s appalling that a piece of artwork clearly mocking the delusions of the right is being excoriated as if it presents those delusions approvingly.
… part of what’s incredibly troubling about the reaction from the left (“your so-called art does not advance our cause, comrade!”) is that this is a pretty basic riff I could have — probably would have — incorporated into one of my own cartoons sooner or later, the old “pretending-crazy-right-wing-shit-is-true-in-order-to-show-how-fucked-up-it-is” gag being pretty integral to my work. Indeed, my pal Ruben Bolling already made a pretty good run at it here.
… Ruben’s take here.
… for all the responses and suggestions regarding my children’s book dilemma. I’ve got to set aside some time and sort through them all, but I didn’t want the moment to pass without expressing my appreciation.
Lindsay Beyerstein has written a great article for Raw Story about an editor at the University of Alabama publications office who was obviously fired for criticizing the Alabama Republican party—on his own time.
Alabama: America’s Own Third World. Well, at least they didn’t shoot him in the head.