The Joke of Semiotics

Of particular import this past week was a mention by the UK’s Telegraph and Washington Post of the Obama/Joker Socialist poster, and to the best of our knowledge, the complete lack of coverage of it by the NY Times (the newspaper that brings us “All the News That’s Fit to Print”). The LA Times has their version of this poster, but sadly verges on the anectdotal and subjective.

The illogical conclusions by the Post’s Philip Kennicott should more than raise concerns. One doesn’t have to be a liberal or conservative to notice how quickly free speech is pummeled by cries of racism at the sight of criticism one doesn’t like. What one should fear is the quiet and subtle censoring of criticism against a head-of-state that happens to be black. The erasure of criticism — good, bad, sensitive, and yes, even racist, is what the First Amendment guards against. What’s more disconcerting is that the Post’s lazy analysis of this image is indicative of the ongoing pro-Obama cadres of “cultural analysts” self-proclaimed as well-versed in semiotics and post-modernist theory.

The smartest and most logical analysis comes from Eugene Volokh of the Huffington Post, “Joker = “urban” = “inner city” = black. True, he’s white, Heath Ledger is white, but … But what exactly? All references to white “urban” criminals are actually secretly to blacks?”

Clancco would love to hear from the “anonymous” Obama-Joker poster creator(s). If you’re out there, you can contact us here, same bat-website, same bat-email!

Tags: barack obama, Joker, semiotics