申論題

    The allure of President Barack Obama as a cover star went far beyond his vocation. He has appeared on more magazines than most supermodels, straddling such a diversity of titles, from political and literary journals to hip-hop monthlies and comic books. One Obama cover that stirred heated contention when he was in office was published by New York Magazine in 2009. The president’s face was graffitied with words such as socialist, impostor, Muslim, and HAT(E) The cover was severely criticized for its malevolent depiction of the new president; the magazine maintained that the words used reflected not their views, but those of a section of Obama’s dissenters. During his eight-year tenure, the press presented Obama as feminist, communist, fashion model, Jew, the messiah, Superman, and even Muslim terrorist. This bizarre kaleidoscope of characterizations reflected a sense of confusion about what Obama stood for and the impossible scope of expectations heaped upon him.