When I first saw this poster, I thought it was awesome! I still do.
I know that some people don't get the social commentary. They don't get why someone would compare the joker to someone who believes in socialism. But to people like me, its not that the joker = socialism.
The joker was someone who pronounced himself to be something that he wasn't. He kept insisting that he was an agent of anarchy, but all along, he had a plan. Remember how he tried convincing the district attorney that he had little to do with the death of Rachael? How he tried to use fear against the people of Gotham to get them to kill each other?
Anyway, someone did their homework and found out who did the original poster. According to the Los Angelos Times, the original artist is Firas Alkhateeb from the University Of Illinois. It appears that Firas isn't a Republican, but just a guy who was bothered by the celebrity worship of Obama. So he created the following cover of Time.
Apparently, someone photoshopped out the Time Logo and kept the original image... adding the "Socialism" tagline.Firas kept quiet about the whole thing, even though he's not the guy who called Obama a socialist. Seems that he was a little worried about the Obama fanatics going a little nuts. Which is a valid fear.
I'm pretty impressed with what Firas did on many levels. But mostly because he took on a cultural icon in Chicago. As a person who lives here, I can only compliment him on his courage.
