“Promised Land”

Posted by Marcello Di Cintio on November 24, 2011 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

From The New Yorker “Culture Desk“:

“Too often in politics, very complex subjects are being turned into sound bites, so it’s easy to take them apart,” says Christoph Niemann, this week’s cover artist. In “Promised Land,” he says, “I draw a parallel between current immigrants and early settlers—the hope is that it will provide context, to help keep things in perspective. Cartoonists, not politicians, should be the ones who condense political discussions into simple images.”

Reading this I can’t help but wonder: What does the Wall represent if not a complicated political discussion condensed into a simple image? What can be simpler, after all, than a wall. What is easier to grasp than Us and Them? Here and There? The Walls, on the U.S.-Mexico border and elsewhere, discard nuance and eliminate the need for discussion altogether.

And before I forget, Happy Thanksgiving America!