Llias's Blog

The New Yorker  magazine cover, "A Weight Lifted", by Barry Blitt No matter the context, any good analysis is rooted in careful observation. Noticing even minute details and seemingly-obvious patterns can reveal something bigger about the true meaning/nature of the subject at hand. Looking at the covers of The New Yorker , it is clear that the artists leave details to point to a deeper commentary on current events. It is up to the readers to infer what that message is for themselves. This particular cover, "A Weight Lifted" by Barry Blitt, features a watercolor painting of a bald eagle carrying a disgruntled former president Donald Trump through the air. Its talons are holding Trump by the shoulders, like a real eagle would carry its prey. The eagle is huge, with a wingspan that seems to be bigger than Trump. Trump is dressed in a blue suit, matching blue pants, black shoes, a red tie, and a white shirt underneath. His recognizable wispy yellow hair is clearly visib...

  The events of the last year have laid out clearly just how divided the United States is right now. Every single topic of conversation can turn into a verbal battle, and for better or for worse, people refuse to really try to understand what their "enemies" are saying. I can't think of a better time to listen to what Celest Headlee is saying in this TED Talk, because right now what we need is to stop screaming at each other and instead try to engage in any kind of conversation that actually does something of use. I think now more than ever, it's easy for someone to become entrenched in their own ideas and to shut out anything that doesn't fit. We can post anything on social media, and the more it gets seen and interacted with and liked and shared, the more we feel validated of our beliefs and sure that we are right and others are wrong. That can lead to conversations just becoming ways to spread your beliefs just like you do online, which in turn only leads to ar...