A "Moment of Joy" for America's Children

     The New Yorker is a prominent magazine based in New York City known for its elaborate covers and extensive coverage of current events and social issues. With a more left-leaning, affluent audience, The New Yorker tends to cover these topics in a more liberal manner. This type of coverage also extends to the front covers of the magazine, which are often open to viewer interpretation, but tend to paint a more liberal picture. 

    This generalization seems to ring true when looking at Jack Hunter’s cover titled “Moment of Joy”, which was published in the July 8th & 15th, 2013 edition of the magazine. This cover features two characters, one orange and one yellow, sitting on a couch in a dark room illuminated by the light from a television. With further observation it is seen that these characters are Bert and Ernie from the popular children’s show, Sesame Street. The yellow character, Bert, is pictured with his arm around the orange character, Ernie, as Ernie leans into his side. They appear to be watching the television in front of them, where a professional photograph of the United States Supreme Court is seen. The Supreme Court justices are pictured as human, unlike Bert and Ernie, who have a puppet-like appearance. The image is also almost entirely black and white, the only exception being Bert and Ernie themselves. The date “July 8 & 15, 2013” and the title “The New Yorker'' can also be seen on the cover, along with the price. During the time of this issue’s publication, Barack Obama was president and gay marriage was the biggest and most controversial hot topic in the United States. Only a few weeks earlier on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court had decided to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states after hearing Obergefell v. Hodges, essentially ending the political debate surrounding same-sex marriage. 

    Based off of these events that were occurring surrounding the time that this cover was published, as well as the positioning of Bert and Ernie in the image, it can be assumed that the two were watching the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage, and that the two are in a gay relationship. Hunter’s cover seems to primarily be about this assumption, however it could also be about how this Supreme Court decision is good for the children of America’s futures. Hunter’s use of well-known children’s characters, instead of established characters from shows targeted at a more adult audience implies this. It is known that The New Yorker is marketed to middle-aged adults, yet Hunter used characters from a TV show whose audience is almost entirely young children, implying that this decision is going to play a big, and positive, role in children’s futures. The ‘normalness’ of the cover also speaks volumes about Hunter and The New Yorker’s opinion on this decision. Hunter depicts Bert and Ernie sitting in front of the TV at night with nothing too far out of the ordinary, just like any straight couple would be assumed to do. Creating this normalness sends the message that gay relationships aren’t any different than straight ones when it comes down to it, and that love is love. 

    Although each cover published by The New Yorker is open to the viewer’s interpretation, it is clear that each artist and the magazine as a whole are trying to get a specific message across with the publication of each new cover. Jack Hunter wants the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage to be seen as positive for the country, even though the details of his “Moments of Joy” cover may be interpreted in several different ways.