When The Past Catches Up
- Who created this message? This Time Magazine's cover was advertising an article written by Olivia B. Waxman titled "The Politics of Teaching America's Past" in July of 2021 during the height of the debate around critical race theory.
- What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? The coverart itself is very catchy and appealing to the eye in kind of a mysterious way. The blackout of the message and the highlights of the specific words coming through give it a forbidden or secretive type of feeling where we aren't privy to the truth behind it. The sidenotes add a personalized touch that also show the inner thoughts around the topic itself.
- How might different people understand this message differently than me? A lot of people have strong opinions about critical race theory and it's impact and implementation in schools and our education system. Some people may have seen this cover and immediately rolled their eyes or moved past it. Others may have seen it as appealing or interesting and chose to read it out of curiosity. Opinions about critical race theory have caused national debate in recent years and this message can probably be interpreted in various ways depending on who's reading it.
- What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message? This message has both an underlying and apparent message about the racism our country faces and the teaching of our history in schools. It highlights words like "patriotism", "slavery", "inclusion", and "civil rights" but doesn't go into depth until reading the article itself. It's enough to catch the eye of the reader, but its message isn't fully visible unless you read the full article.
- Why is this message being sent? American history is a hot topic and when this article came out it was at a time where news headlines covered stories about statues being taken down and streets and places were being renamed because of their historical affiliations. Its purpose was to bring to the forefront a topic that has made a lot of people uncomfortable and address the bogeyman in the room.