Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
"The new Time cover is disturbing, but clarifying," writes Daniel Foster at the Corner. Before you click, note: the image presents an 18-year-old Afghan girl whose nose and ears (though her hair is down) have been sliced off by the Taliban, punishment for her decision to flee abusive in-laws.
Here's what Time's managing editor says about the decision to publish this cover:
I'm acutely aware that this image will be seen by children, who will undoubtedly find it distressing. We have consulted with a number of child psychologists about its potential impact. Some think children are so used to seeing violence in the media that the image will have little effect, but others believe that children will find it very scary and distressing [...]. I apologize to readers who find the image too strong [...].
But bad things do happen to people, and it is part of our job to confront and explain them. In the end, I felt that the image is a window into the reality of what is happening — and what can happen — in a war that affects and involves all of us. I would rather confront readers with the Taliban's treatment of women than ignore it. I would rather people know that reality as they make up their minds about what the U.S. and its allies should do in Afghanistan.
Is he right?
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Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
No.
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Yes. He is absolutely right.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Much as I hate to agree a Time editor, I'm glad to see them "confront" these realities. Let's see how they handle the "explaining". We need regular reminders of what we are up against.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
I suppose the next issue will have graphic pictures of late term abortions as well, you know, to give people a "window into the reality of what is happening."
Jul '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
If Obama's people were really smart instead of pedestrian spinners they would have this woman sit alongside him on a sofa as he explained in prime time what is at stake in Afghanistan.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Yes, the editor's right. I have little sympathy for people hiding from truth. He mentions children, but not even adults face unpleasant images like that these days. Not even college textbooks include images like that. And, as Dean says, voters need to know the nature of our enemies.
I was actually expecting the picture to be worse. Her ears were cut off, but they didn't show that. They draped her in rich color. They purposefully juxtaposed the girl's beauty with her injury.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Yes, he's right. This is a welcome change from the MSM's constant attempts to downplay Islamist atrocities. If anything, the cover image is mild compared to some of the other things Time could have shown.
That being said, the U.S. does not have the resources to confront Evil on a global scale. This sort of abuse is happening in many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. We should decide what to do about Afghanistan based on our national interests rather than our emotions.
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Yes, I agree. My oldest, 6, would be puzzled by it more than horrified. But, regardless, it would lead to a conversation about America and what sets us apart, and I'm always happy to have those conversations. We can talk about how grateful we are to be born here, but also think about the responsibility we have, living in peace and prosperity, to think also about what we can do to change things for people who are not truly free. A parent who would try to avoid the picture and this conversation is making a mistake.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
James Poulos, Ed.:
Here's what Time's managing editor says about the decision to publish this cover:
Next time you go to Borders or Barnes and Noble, check out where Time is displayed in the store - about 3.5 feet off the ground at the checkout. So when you're standing there, waiting for 5 minutes as the former history major rushes to check you out, how will you explain the image to young kids; "well, there are places in the world where Islamists hurt people very badly?"
I'm not suggesting we should hide the truth of the matter or restrict free speech, but do we really need to graphically display it on the front page to get the message across? Are the American people so daft that they can't understand an issue unless it's on American Idol? Maybe so.
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
I have no problem with that, either.
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Thanks for these responses. It's interesting to me that no one has yet voiced support for the image because Aisha (that's her name) volunteered to make a statement:
That's commendable, but I don't think that's the right justification for publishing the photo as a cover image. As for the decision itself, I'm still not convinced one way or the other quite yet...
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Samwise Gamgee
James Poulos, Ed.:
Here's what Time's managing editor says about the decision to publish this cover:
Next time you go to Borders or Barnes and Noble, check out where Time is displayed in the store - about 3.5 feet off the ground at the checkout. So when you're standing there, waiting for 5 minutes as the former history major rushes to check you out, how will you explain the image to young kids; "well, there are places in the world where Islamists hurt people very badly?"
It's so interesting you bring up product placement, Samwise. I can't tell you how many times I've had to shield the eyes of my daughter from Cosmopolitan magazine, also placed at HER eye level, on which cover teasers blare: "How to Pleasure Your Man Down There" -- italics theirs. Trust me, that's a much more uncomfortable and troublesome conversation. Sorry if I'm outing myself as a prude, here, but it's the truth.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
James, I am curious about the nature of your internal conflict. Do you worry about the graphic nature of the picture in general, the potential for children to see it, or something else? To Ursula's point about Cosmo, I worry more about the commercials my children see when we watch sporting events on TV. I am dreading this phrase coming from my six or eight year old son, "Daddy, what is ED?" Any number of TV or movie commercials are also difficult as well.
On the other hand, I felt quite good about the conversation my boys and I had about why somebody would bomb people for watching soccer on television in Uganda. They heard the news just as I flipped my radio to listen to Dr. Bennett the other morning. The difficult part of that was explaining why we could not fight tyranny everywhere.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Ursula Hennessey
I've had to shield the eyes of my daughter from Cosmopolitan magazine, also placed at HER eye level, on which cover teasers blare: "How to Pleasure Your Man Down There" -- italics theirs. Trust me, that's a much more uncomfortable and troublesome conversation. Sorry if I'm outing myself as a prude, here, but it's the truth. · Jul 29 at 10:24am
I understand what you mean. My wife just gave birth (2 months ago) to our first child, our daughter. It took me a little while to realize why I was getting so worked up over the part about kids seeing the image. I better be careful, lest my democrat friends ensnare me in their web with one of those, "do it for the children" comments.
I agree with the aims of the photo and that there needs to be an increased awareness of the importance and brutality of the issue ... I hope I can do a good enough job explaining the situation to our kids without the image, which will no doubt, prove difficult. Explaining big things to kids usually is, for me anyway.
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
I recoil against the idea, which I see swimming beneath the Time editor's remarks, that the media has a moral obligation to present innocence-destroying images to children, so long as the latest science, conveyed by child psychologists, tells them it's okay. This seems to me to provide far too much cover (pardon my pun) to the twisted sense of authority that has led to a scene or two at the grocery store in my family: Q. "Why is this checkout aisle rack of tabloids staring my kid in the face?" A. "I'm sorry if that's offensive to you, sir." Somehow the duty to keep nothing hidden is absolute, but any objection to corruption is utterly subjective.
Yet of course the Time cover is worlds different from the Lesbo Hillary Scandal, the 500 Things Your Man Never Thought You Could Do, or whatever. I suppose my concern is that we live in a culture antagonistic to the kinds of line-drawing distinctions that we want and need to maintain in this area.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
No, he's not right.
A photograph of the aftermath of an evil act is but a fleeting glimpse; the viewer looks and moves on, further inured to reality. We, as verbal beings, need to be able to talk to one another about evil acts and actors, to articulate in clear voices what is wrong with a belief that mutilation for ideology is acceptable. Looking at pictures is a weak, passive act and no substitute for engagement.
Jun '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
As they say, the horses are already on the track.
For me, this is lamentable. Like Ursula, I’ve felt pretty much the same in having to distract my children’s attention away from Men’s & Women’s magazines in the past as I would/will feel about double-timing my son around this macabre cover photo in the days to come; why not under the fold. It may be bold of an old horse like TIME --taking Islam to task-- but, to me, it is not simply heavy handed but a self-promoting in an inevitable coarsening of society…even if with good intentions or in a good cause, as here.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
James Poulos, Ed.
Somehow the duty to keep nothing hidden is absolute, but any objection to corruption is utterly subjective.
· Jul 29 at 11:04am
We all invoke Cosmo and the like as examples of what we do not want our children to see, and I agree with what you say above James. On the other hand, I do not put this Time cover in the same category. I do not believe that it is corrupting.
In fact, I believe it is critical to teach our children that there is evil in the world. This picture is horrible, but the young lady is courageous. This picture is instructive of the evil that exists and can provide opportunity for dialogue about that evil, just as the soccer bombing was an opportunity for instruction for my boys.
That all said, I believe that our society would benefit from an increase in respect for a parent's right to choose the timing and degree of exposure to material that destroys innocence.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
Claire Berlinski
I have no problem with that, either. · Jul 29 at 9:37am
My eldest is a typical, if verbally overboard, 4.5 year old boy: mud puddles, lizards, farm equipment, fighter planes, and bodily functions fascinate him. But he has not been exposed to anything more on TV than Tigger and Pooh and the 40+ year old Scooby Doo dynasty. And since he hasn't been exposed to all that other stuff, even half of the Scooby Doo episodes are too scary for him -- by his own assessment. In the meantime, we've had our discussions about life's cruelties, and they're not happy lessons.
My point: I emphatically reject the idea that The Commons is so far gone that we shouldn't even try to keep certain images away from children. Things like death and human cruelty need to be explained in plain terms, but gently. They'll get the full picture soon enough.
May '10
Re: Confronting Evil: Time's Taliban Cover Photo
How many of us grew up with fairy tales like Snow White, in which the evil queen commands a hunter to cut out the girl's heart and bring it back in a box? Innocence is not merely a matter of exposure, but pictures can make all the difference.
While I believe that kids today are far too sheltered, I agree with James that parents should have a great, if not total, measure of control over the gradual process of enlightening their children. I also believe that photographs and videos are vital for adults to understand issues like burkas or abortion.