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Does Either Of These Images Offend You?

Sep 9, 2008
By .
Humor, Politics & Current Events

A little Rorschach test, completely safe for work unless you're at Indiana University:

Barack Obama:

Note the mildly exaggerated facial features, the Charles Schulz head, the big ears, and the big smile.  Obama doesn't actually have any of those features, except that his ears do remind me of a car with both doors open.

…

…

Now:

Sarah Palin.  Note the exaggeration of certain other features, as well as the combination of the naughty schoolgirl outfit with the sexy librarian look that Governor Palin, in my opinion, carries off quite well.

The order in which I selected these images is intentional, in that I believe that this site draws more Obama supporters than McCain-Palin supporters, and I also believe that the percentage of readers who would be offended by a potentially offensive caricature of a woman is rather lower here than at some sites I could name.  So I chose the order to maximize my possibility of offending someone.

I'm also stereotyping you (well, not you, but them) in this regard.  Are you offended on their behalf?

I came across these images in an online forum discussion of the just-released Palin doll (the same company makes both dolls) which was drawing a lot of laughs until someone posted an image of the Obama doll, at which point "that's not funny!" entered the discussion.  (I'll stereotype again.  I find Obama's strongest supporters to be utterly devoid of anything resembling humor where their man is concerned, in a way that, for instance, most of McCain's supporters are not and Hillary's supporters were not.  They also love to dish it out, but again I'm stereotyping.  Are you offended?)

I'm not offended by either of these images, but then I may not vote for either of these candidates.  But I can't imagine a politician on whose behalf I would be offended, by something like caricature.  I was baffled at the outrage over the mildly clever New Yorker cartoons of the Obamas, and I'm baffled by those who were oh-so-offended at the Hillary Clinton nutcracker.

There's no deeper meaning here.  I just wanted to ask you whether either of these offends you, and why?

Last 5 posts by Patrick

9 Comments
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9 Comments

  1. Stephen  •  Sep 9, 2008 @1:49 pm

    I'm not offended by either and think the Obama doll looks like Al Roker. I like Al – has a great barbeque show on the Food Network.

  2. Bob  •  Sep 9, 2008 @2:12 pm

    Someone needs to turn a Real Doll into Sarah Palin. That'll get people offended.

  3. dbt1949  •  Sep 9, 2008 @3:47 pm

    I just ordered the Palin doll for my collection.
    Thanks!

  4. Brian Dunbar  •  Sep 9, 2008 @4:49 pm

    Not offended just .. meh. Whop-te-do, and hurrah for capitalism.

    I note that the Palin doll has knobby knees.

  5. JonathanStrange  •  Sep 9, 2008 @5:51 pm

    Yeah, I thought it was Al Roker too, not a good Obama doll. The Palin doll's not offensive to me or anything to me; I guess I'm not into the doll thing. Perhaps as a collectible? Man, if I had a time machine I'd make my living going back to the past and collecting sh*% like this and zapping back and selling it on EBay.

  6. Ansley  •  Sep 9, 2008 @6:33 pm

    I'm not offended, but I don't like them. I think they reach similar levels of tastelessness and bias. So, in other words, they are equally ugly, but for different reasons.

  7. Chris  •  Sep 10, 2008 @6:39 am

    I find the Obama doll poorly constructed – it just doesn't look that much like him. It looks like the person who made it was going for the Peanuts art style, which (despite Schultz making it look effortless) is pretty hard to do well.

    I find the Palin doll to be in bad taste, but it doesn't rise to the level of offense.

    Referring to Palin's look as a sexy librarian fills my wife with rage.

  8. TreeRoi  •  Sep 10, 2008 @8:28 am

    The problem with the Schultz Obama is that the round head obliterates his thinness, which is one of his defining physical features. Caricature is supposed to play up and exaggerate defining features, not disguise them.

    I think both of these dolls are pretty stupid, and stupidity sometimes offends me.

  9. Brian Dunbar  •  Sep 10, 2008 @8:40 am

    Man, if I had a time machine I’d make my living going back to the past and collecting sh*% like this and zapping back and selling it on EBay.

    I sometimes wonder how people find those 'new in the box, never opened' deals.

    And now we know. Someone has a time machine and they're not sharing.