If you follow US news, you may have heard that Cracker Barrel has a new logo. Why is this newsworthy…? Well, we’ll come to that. But first, here:
Old one on left and new one on right
It’s a case of minimalism going to the extreme. This is nothing new; it’s been a trend for awhile, especially in the software world. You may recall that iOS was once designed to look full of real objects (called skeuomorphism), but then about 10 years ago changed to a flat design:
Old version on left and new one on right
As is often the case, Apple set the trend that the rest of the software world soon followed.
Anyway, this minimalist logo design has been growing over the years. It’s manifested itself in the very design of the buildings too. Compare:
There are other reasons for the buildings changing. The common “market research” is telling all these businesses that people like Starbucks-style cafes and that they can gain more business by changing the very design of their buildings to look like Starbucks.
Anyway, what does all this have to do with being woke? Well, as you can see, the new Cracker Barrel logo is just another business falling to this trend. The difference this time is that the MAGA faithful are complaining that the Cracker Barrel change is woke. What does this even mean?
History Lesson
Woke was originally African-American slang, meaning awareness of social injustices, especially race and discrimination. The word lingered in the Black community from the 1920s until it spread into widespread usage with Black Lives Matter in 2014. From there, it was coöpted by the radical Left and broadened to cover gender and LGBTQ issues.
The Right then seized on it, flipping woke into an insult for anything left-leaning. By the end of the decade, it was shorthand for ridicule. MAGA took it further: now anything they dislike — liberal, moderate, or even old-school conservative — gets slapped with the label woke.
Enter Trump and the Logo
Since Trump came to power, they have been purging all moderates and traditional conservatives (and anyone who doesn’t swear fealty to Trump, basically) from the party, using the term woke as a way to put a target on what they want their base to attack.
Anyway. The Cracker Barrel logo. The MAGAs don’t like it, so it’s woke. I don’t really like it either, but… well, I also don’t care. I have much more important things in my life to worry about than a logo.
So yeah, anyway:
(Thanks to @preparedwombat for this excellent meme)
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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. |