Picture of the Day - Face as statement
At what point does a politician's face become a statement of its own? Not every politician's face becomes a stylized statement of .... "resistance"(?)
Just certain figures take on that iconic status. Clearly Obama's image did in 2008. There was a somewhat stylized image of Bin Laden that was very popular in some Islamic quarters around 2003-04, and clearly the iconic Che Guevara image still holds message today. I think you could argue the two tone Lenin still bumps around, although it's in something of a "camp" sense.
To my mind, it's a point where the affiliation/identity of the wearer/holder becomes the message beyond any particular position of the icon.
(Disclaimer: I still occasionally wear my Obama face shirt. I don't know what I'm trying to say with it, but I do have some emotional content when I put it on. ...and yet, nobody made John Kerry face tee shirts, and even if they had, I sincerely doubt I would have worn one. No iconic Gore 2000 tee shirts, or Clinton..... No stylized Bush or even really Reagan....)
So, what do you think? What dynamics make a stylized face a statement?
posted by mikevotes at
7:28 AM
6 Comments:
First of all, you need a populous how feels they've been repeatedly screwed by the ruling establishment. Then you need a charismatic figure who speaks to those concerns with credibility and passion. This person must be approachable -- seen as "of the people." Lastly, you need a good graphic artist....
I think this point is key:
"To my mind, it's a point where the affiliation/identity of the wearer/holder becomes the message beyond any particular position of the icon."
The icon must be sufficiently vague on details, such that the populace uses the icon as a canvas upon which to paint their own vision... within the emotional frame the icon has established.
By
-epm, at 8:32 AM
Moussavi has a more honest and likeable image than Khatami or Rafsanjani.
By
Anonymous, at 9:32 AM
It happens when the context outweighs the image.
By
r8r, at 9:40 AM
Thanks for the responses. I just couldn't stop thinking about this this morning.
By
mikevotes, at 10:13 AM
taking the face meme to another level:
I think the more photos/images of Iranian citizens and people see how real and especially beautiful (esp the women of all ages) the harder it will be for MSM/neocons to convince us the iranians are evil holocaust deniers...
No one really saw pics of iraqis over the years - except for Sadaam and his stooges so it seemed the the Bush's had an easier time with convincing MSM and the sheeple the Iraqis were all dirty terrorists...
not sure if it holds water, but just in the past 7 days of pics of iranians - actual citizens - and how real they are and how amazing the tide of power I have a different reaction automatically when I hear of how Israel has a right to defend themselves, etc...
By
Anonymous, at 8:39 PM
I heard something similar start to ricochet around the media today, that these protests present a complexity and subtlety that belies the evil mullahs in black hats image we've been subjected to for the last 8 years.
By
mikevotes, at 9:05 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home