View Full Version : The Joker...
I don't think there are many that would disagree with the fact that todays news organizations are a bit left leaning.
The outrage about the "Joker" poster being only the latest.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/08/03/obama-joker-poster-starts-outrage-bush-joker-poster-not-so-much
Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much
By Noel Sheppard, August 3, 2009 - 21:58 ET
Not surprisingly, the Obama Joker Poster reported by NewsBusters Saturday is already drawing some outrage.
According to a television station where the posters have been spotted, "Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous."
Yet, when Vanity Fair's Politics & Power blog published a somewhat similar visual representation of George W. Bush last July, nobody seemed to complain. In fact, throughout the Bush years, demeaning drawings of the President and Vice President Dick Cheney were quite commonplace.
But, according to KTLA.com, depicting Barack Obama in unflattering terms is a no no (h/t Sonny Bunch via Jonah Goldberg):
Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves.
"Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery," says Hutchinson, "it is mean-spirited and dangerous."
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."
Hmmm. I wonder where the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable was when Vanity Fair published this last July:
And where was the outrage when the Village Voice published this on the cover of its October 26, 2004, issue:
In reality, if I wanted to, I could likely produce hundreds of disgusting drawings of Bush, Cheney, and others in their Administration plastered at publications across the fruited plain the last eight years.
That was acceptable commentary and political satire back then.
Now that Obama is in the White House, it's called "mean-spirited and dangerous."
Any questions?
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters
While I think the Bush-Joker is much more artistic...
The Obama-Joker is very sinister...
My $00.0002
I don't seem to remember there being any concern over 'Mean-spirited and dangerous' with any of the artistry done on George Bush.
JMO.... I kind of like this one......the shoe fits so to speak.
Today - for some strange reason - the BHO Joker poster brings up images of the Joker's blowing up the hospital in the last Batman movie... ;)
Richard's $.02 :munchin
I wish everyone would get off the sensitive train and get thick skin. They are now on the big boy train and need to toughen up and quit being so sensitive to anything that is not positive to their KoolAid plan.
Dozer523
08-04-2009, 07:07
While I think the Bush-Joker is much more artistic...
The Obama-Joker is very sinister...My $00.0002
They are both wrong. There is a a difference between political satire and meanness. And my mom would have jack-slapped me if I'd done either and then claimed First Amendment rights. In her world, politeness, kindness, and civility trumped "I can because I can". Thanks Mom!
bandycpa
08-04-2009, 07:08
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."
Because it fits?
Because it's the truth?
Because Americans have finally grown sick and tired of being force-fed socialist ideology? And our freedom is more important than his attempt to look good to the rest of the world?
And maybe because America is slowly realizing we (yes, "we"...I didn't vote for him, but once the decision is made, we're all in this together) made a mistake voting this man into the World's Most Powerful Office.
And maybe, finally, because we're mad as hell, and we're not gonna take it anymore.
Bandy
blue02hd
08-04-2009, 07:17
This reminds me of the Sarah Palin likeness that was hung on a noose from a chimney on the West Coast during Halloween. If I remember right, this was considered "art".
Poor taste is still poor taste.
The Reaper
08-04-2009, 07:21
Cartoonists have been doing this and putting it in published works since elections began.
Somewhere, underground in Greece, are millenia old political cartoons.
I see nothing wrong with it. You cannot rationalize that it is okay for people to mock Pres. Bush, and publish defamatory cartoons, but not to do the same for Pres. Obama.
This is a 1st Amendment issue.
TR
T...... There is a a difference between political satire and meanness. ........
True - but for most - where the line is drawn depends on if it is your guy or the other guy.
Me? I can just smile and shake my head at both.
Abu-Shakra
08-04-2009, 07:39
Lets get real. We all know it's really racially motivated. :rolleyes:
Lets get real. We all know it's really racially motivated. :rolleyes:
So it's all NASCAR's fault? :p
By definition - and IMO - the posters are art, satire, political commentary, propaganda, usw. - they're all designed to portray the creator's thoughts and to evoke an emotional response (or not) which can be as individual as each viewer's experiences and opinions.
It is a gratification to me to know that I am ignorant of art...because people who understand art find nothing in pictures but blemishes.
- Mark Twain
Richard's $.02 :munchin
You ever notice that people are most offended and/or indignant when your accusations are true?
x/S
Team Sergeant
08-04-2009, 09:51
Lets get real. We all know it's really racially motivated. :rolleyes:
I'm at a loss, is it his Black or White half they're depicting? ;)
Me thinks the socialists doth complain too much.
I don't think there are many that would disagree with the fact that todays news organizations are a bit left leaning.
The outrage about the "Joker" poster being only the latest. The story aired by KTLA dis-spells the notion that news outlets in L.A. are left leaning <<LINK (http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=96c12132-1125-4194-b24f-582cc7361c3b&cat=bf8d86ad-07d4-46d7-a6d3-6ddeece6d891&src=front&title=KTLA:%20Obama%20%22Joker%22%20Poster%20Spark s%20Controversy%20--%20Jaime%20Chambers%20reports)>>. Out here, it comes down to three things: what the therapist says, the impact on traffic, and the question of questions: "Can I get away with it if I do what everyone else is doing?":rolleyes:
longrange1947
08-04-2009, 12:27
I'm at a loss, is it his Black or White half they're depicting? ;)
But is his black half on the right side or the left?**
**Star Trek :p
Go Devil
08-04-2009, 13:19
I did it.:)
greenberetTFS
08-04-2009, 14:27
I did it.:)
This reminds of Spartcus,........NO, I did it !!! ;)
Big Teddy :munchin
But is his black half on the right side or the left?**......
Yeah, the Riddler was in that one also.
I think its an outrage!
...what has the Joker done so wrong to be drawn so that he looks like the POTUS (twice)?
If I was the Joker I'd be pissed.
Oh boo hoo, some meanie is making the one look awful. :rolleyes: I saw no outrage during the previous 8 years of attacks, many much worse than a stupid picture.
Reminds me of how the dims are now accusing the anger being expressed at town hall meetings (though the shouting etc is stupid, speak rationally or STFU) to be manufactured, unpatriotic yada yada yada. Why wasn't it even as recent as a year ago that dissent was patriotic?! I mean surely no one can dislike the one, or his socialist plans for the US... :rolleyes: Please.
Red Flag 1
08-04-2009, 18:44
I wish everyone would get off the sensitive train and get thick skin. They are now on the big boy train and need to toughen up and quit being so sensitive to anything that is not positive to their KoolAid plan.
Yup!!
Liberals opted for brainless use of talons; tough skin was never an option to be considered.
RF 1
GratefulCitizen
08-04-2009, 22:47
The mockery of the president (it still hurts to type that) may be cathartic for his many opponents, but a different tone might be more effective politically.
Such mockery tends to turn off many who might otherwise listen, and only rallies those who would already oppose him (preaching to the choir).
Rather than an object of mockery, he should be cast as an object of pity.
He can be presented as someone who boldy strived, but just doesn't have what it takes to govern.
This has a better chance of sticking and does more to politically weaken him.
Next, blame can be targeted on those who don't engender sympathy: the king-makers on the left.
Go after the soft targets, neuter the king.
Source is here (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/08/obama-joker-artist.html).
Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan
August 17, 2009 | 6:29 pm
When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from "Batman" began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image?
Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group or a disgruntled street artist going against the grain?
Nope, it turns out, just a 20-year-old college student from Chicago.
Bored during his winter school break, Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe's Photoshop software.
Alkhateeb had been tinkering with the program to improve the looks of photos he had taken on his clunky Kodak camera. The Joker project was his grandest undertaking yet. Using a tutorial he'd found online about how to "Jokerize" portraits, he downloaded the October 23 Time Magazine cover of Obama and began digitally painting over it.
Four or five hours later, he happily had his product.
Obama-joker-time On Jan. 18, Alkhateeb uploaded the image to photo-sharing site Flickr <<LINK TO IMAGE (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a556b3b4970c-pi)>>. Over the next two months, he amassed just a couple thousand hits, he said.
Then the counter exploded after a still-anonymous rogue famously found his image, digitally removed the references to Time Magazine, captioned the picture with the word "socialism" and hung printed copies around L.A., making headlines.
Alkhateeb's original Flickr page surpassed 20,000 views. The Times found his Flickr site last week thanks to a tip left by a loyal reader of The Ticket. By Friday, the page had been taken down.
On Alkhateeb's page, a manipulated image condemning fellow Chicagoan and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (captioned "epic fail") was mixed in with parodies of the "Guitar Hero" game franchises -- dubbed Quran Hero -- and of Napoleon riding a motorcycle <<LINK TO IMAGE (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a4ff9613970b-800wi)>>
Flickr had removed the Joker image due to copyright-infringement concerns, Alkhateeb says the company told him in an e-mail. A Flickr spokeswoman declined to comment due to a company policy that bars discussing inquiries about individual users.
Alkhateeb says he wasn't actively trying to cover his tracks, but he did want to lay low. He initially had concerns about connecting his name with anything critical of the president -- especially living in Chicago, where people are "very, very liberal," he said.
"After Obama was elected, you had all of these people who basically saw him as the second coming of Christ," Alkhateeb said. "From my perspective, there wasn't much substance to him."
"I abstained from voting in November," he wrote in an e-mail. "Living in Illinois, my vote means close to nothing as there was no chance Obama would not win the state." If he had to choose a politician to support, Alkhateeb said, it would be Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Napoleon Possibly becoming a villain in his home city wasn't his only worry. Time's cover and the Joker obviously aren't Alkhateeb's copyrights to fool around with.
Concerned about a lawsuit, Alkhateeb, an unnamed superstar whose nationally recognized artwork had stunned friends and family, was relieved that the situation had floated for months without any major news organizations discovering that he was the man behind the paint.
After we contacted him, he hesitantly agreed to an interview.
If it's any consolation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that defends digital rights, says Alkhateeb has a strong fair-use defense if Time or DC Comics decides to take him to court -- that is if one even does file a lawsuit.
"You really want to think twice about going after a political commenter," said Corynne McSherry, a senior staff attorney at the EFF. In Time's case, "a news organization probably doesn't want to be in the situation of pursuing political criticism."
Perhaps the strongest case for anyone, McSherry said, is for Alkhateeb to claim money derived from people selling T-shirts with his picture. Is it worth pursuing? "It would be nice, but it's not that big of a deal," Alkhateeb said.
Although Alkhateeb claims he was making no political statement with the artwork, he's plugged into the Washington debate. Though born in the United States, his Palestinian family closely follows Middle Eastern politics.
"I think he's definitely doing better than Bush was," Alkhateeb said of Obama. Alkhateeb's views on foreign relations align with the Democrats, he said, while he prefers Republican ideals on domestic issues.
Alkhateeb's assessment of Obama: "In terms of domestic policy, I don't think he's really doing much good for the country right now," he said. "We don't have to 'hero worship' the guy."
Someday, Alkhateeb hopes to be a history teacher and high school football coach. He won't be pursuing a full-time career in art, but he'll continue playing with Photoshop on the side. He's honored by Shepard Fairey's assessment of his Joker picture, but disagrees with some of Fairey's comments criticizing the message of the Socialism poster.
"He made a picture of Bush as a vampire," Alkhateeb said about Fairey. "That's kind of speaking with two faces."
Regardless, Alkhateeb does agree with the Obama "Hope" artist about "socialism" being the wrong caption for the Joker image. "It really doesn't make any sense to me at all," he said. "To accuse him of being a socialist is really ... immature. First of all, who said being a socialist is evil?"
-- Mark Milian
dr. mabuse
08-20-2009, 16:51
I'm certain that the "SPOTUS" is tough enough to take it, being a public figure and all that goes with it.:rolleyes:
But is his black half on the right side or the left?**
Reminded me of this pic.
incarcerated
08-24-2009, 00:24
Wish I had found this sooner.
This poster/image has been investigated in the Orlando/Disney area for a few weeks now. Apparently someone has been plastering them up on telephone poles, street lights, and so forth. Local LEO are more interested in the vandalism side of it than the "poking fun" at side of it. And these are small either, they're bigger than a standard piece of paper.
Such visual political satire is as old as History - anyone ever study the works of Goya, for example, or those of Thomas Nast regarding Tammany Hall? It makes some interesting reading - maybe the BHOites should do a little bit of homework before tossing around such tarnished boomerang stones.
And so it goes...;)
Richard's $.02 :munchin