Time Capsules of Today

Our newest unit in SUPA Writing 105 is a challenging, yet extremely exciting one, as we will be learning the craft of analysis and writing analytically.  In order to do this, we must think outside the box and write from a different perspective that we ever have before. For our first major assignment, we analyzed a cover from The New Yorker.  Enjoy!

Magazines, like newspapers and phonebooks, have rapidly become less and less a major part of our culture, due to an abundant surge in technological advances with cell phones and social media. Nonetheless, magazines are like time capsules to the dates that they were published, as they capture the coverage of society during that moment in time. Nothing is more time captivating and more attention grabbing than the cover to a magazine.  Opening as a weekly in 1925, The New Yorker is a magazine that is known for its abstract and sometimes controversial covers. Within the magazine, one can find commentary, cartoons, essays, and many other platforms of journalism. The New Yorker is known for its blatantly obvious political humor and societal commentary.  It was founded by Harold Ross and New York Times reporter, Jane Grant. They wanted to create a journalism platform that withheld more of a humorous approach to delivering news and commentary. Over the years, like anything else, The New Yorker has grown and evolved, changing with the world in which it covers. My assigned The New Yorker was published on December 1st, 2014… 89 years after the first edition was published.

One of the initial steps in analyzing our The New Yorker covers, was our in depth observations of every little detail within the illustrated cover.  Here is mine!

Detailed Description: 

The title contains a scene that is titled as “The First Thanksgiving”. The picture is taking place within the confines of a spacious log cabin.  A wooden table is set in the forefront, at the bottom of the page, with foods that are typically symbolic of the American holiday that we know as Thanksgiving.  There is a cooked turkey on the left hand side of the screen, alongside a glass of wine. There is also a plate containing what appears to be green beans or asparagus with some yellow and brown sides, to the right of the turkey. Towards the center of the wooden table is a burning candle, and a centerpiece floral arrangement with reds, pinks, and yellows. Further right, next to the floral arrangement, sits a white bowl of gravy and a burning wax candle atop a red floral wreath. Continuing to the right hand side of the screen, there is what appears to be a pie, two small pumpkins, and a container used for pouring. Furthest right at the forefront bottom of the page, is a jug with a semi-clear liquid in it, and what appears to be a green bottle of alcohol. 

As we move up the screen from the bottom, past the set table, the scene really develops.  There is a table set behind a couch that contains 5 metal beer mugs, a bottle, a bowl of chips, and an American football. 4 of the mugs are on the right of the table, with one in the process of tipping off of the table.  The remaining mug is on the other side of the chip bowl, beside the bottle and football. Just left of the table, partially leaning against the table, is a Caucasian male wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black tie.  He has long black boots that go up to his knees. He is wearing a large black hat and has a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Most notably, over his suit, he is wearing a maroon football jersey that reads in white, the number 19, with red and white trim on each sleeve. He is standing in a manner of unbalance, yet appears excited and is celebrating.  He has his right hand out to his right and has his left hand out and up in the air, raising the mug in his hand high. Through the cigar, you can see the smile on his face. Behind him, there are three people sitting on said couch. Two, appear to be cheering, with their arms up in the air.  Like the first man, they are wearing a black suit with the same maroon, yellow, and white jersey over it. The man in the middle’s jersey reads number 70, while the other’s on the left is not visible.  The third is turned to his left, facing the door.  He has the same black suit on with a white shirt and black tie, but no jersey. He has his left hand draped over the back of the couch, indicating relaxation, while his other hand is holding a crafted throwing axe in the air. He has a smile on his face. All the way to the right of the picture, is a woman in a pink and white dress, and a white bonnet.  She is smiling and carrying a tray that has three green bottles on it. 

All the way in the back, against the log cabin wall is a giant flat screen television with a black frame.  On the television is a green field and a white football player in motion. He is wearing the same jersey that three of the people in the cabin were wearing and also has a maroon helmet on with a yellow facemask, white stripe down the middle, and a Native American on the side.  This is a very well known logo of the Washington Redskins, an NFL franchise. This is a Washington Redskins football player. Hanging over the television, is a giant maroon banner reading, “GO REDSKINS!” in yellow block letters. To the right of the banner and television, above the woman, is a piece of tall wooden furniture that is not completely in frame.  It showcases a shelf that has a white plate and metal pouring utensil as a decoration display. On top of the banner, as the roof of the cabin comes to a point, an unrolled scroll or piece of old paper reads “ Welcome to” in blue and “REDSKINS NATION!” in red. That is in the middle of the image.  To the right of that is a giant wall decoration that is the Washington Redskins logo. About ¼ of it is cut off the screen.

The final piece of the image takes place at the door on the left side of the picture. The initial man that I spoke about is welcoming three men into the log cabin. The door is open, swung inward, and has a wreath on it that faces outside. The three resemble Native Americans.  The first one in the door has a mohawk with black and white feathers atop his head.  He is half clothed, with a green sash draped across him that has fold designs on it. He is holding a wooden pole in his hands. He also has tan boots on. He appears smug. The man behind him look similar, but has a completely different cultural dress. This man has long braided hair with feathers and decoration in it. He is wearing many layers, including a yellow covering with a red robe over it  and a light blue piece around his waist. The red robe has black stripes along the side.  The light blue belt has gold pieces on it. He also has a white covering around his collarbone, atop the robe. His right hand is just outside of the robe while his other remains covered. His face is very smug and serious. The final man can just barely be seen coming in the door.  He has tall, short hair, with an elaborate crown like head covering that is gold with jewels on it. He has a thick necklace on and is also half dressed, with a blue robe wrapped around his shoulders, covering the sides of his body. It is light outside. The smug Native Americans seem to be welcomed into the log cabin by the joyful and hospitable pilgrims, who are rooting on the Redskins. 

I say it all the time, but there is a lot that goes into this and this cover in particular is very, very detailed.  It is obvious, the subject that this cover is drawing attention to. The fact that as Americans, we celebrate the game of football and cheer on a professional football team such as the Washington Redskins.  We do this at the expense of Native Americans and their culture.  Now in baseball and collegiate athletics, the terms Indians, Chiefs, Seminoles, Braves, etc. is bad enough, but the term Redskins is especially derogatory and extremely offensive. This cover captures the time in which it was published perfectly, as it was just after Thanksgiving in 2014, when this topic of conversation was red hot and just being brought up. Now, six years later, it is even more interesting to see where this conversation started to where it is now. Before the 2020 NFL Football season, the longtime Washington Redskins changed their franchise name to the Washington Football Team, with the Cleveland Indians of baseball, following suit in the near future. A year in which a fight for social justice has emerged to the forefront, is what it took to make this long awaited change happen. Washington proved that football and tradition can remain the same as they won a playoff game this season, sporting their traditional red and gold uniforms.  They also announced that rather than rebranding, they will be keeping the title of The Washington Football Team.  Though this cover photo takes a very sarcastic approach, it still exploits our wrong doing in supporting and putting our love for football ahead of the heritage and culture of others. I believe that we will continue to see changes made in this fight or at least efforts made, such as Florida State University making incredibly generous donations to the Seminole tribe in order to use their name as the University’s mascot. Essentially they are paying for the name, but Florida State does carry that name with pride and tradition, and treats it with extreme respect. This is much different than a derogatory term such as Redskins.

Thank you so much, as always, for reading!  I hope that you enjoyed it, and I look forward to the next one!  Be sure to follow along and see how this ongoing story continues to develop.