Harry The Nazi
Certainly, Prince Harry showing up at a costume party wearing a Nazi uniform is going to stir debate about his values; Prince Charles’ parenting style; and the extent to which youth in Britain and the rest of the world are familiar with or understand WWII and the Holocaust. ...
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Winning By A Landslide
In analyzing a news photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger, I think the rules are different. This is because Schwarzenegger refuses to identify himself as just another politician. Whereas most “cross over” Hollywood figures identify themselves as politicians who happen to be actors, Arnold turns it around; he’s the actor who...
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Gunner's Palace Update
Back in June, I did a post about Michael Tucker, an embedded journalist in Iraq who was making a film about the war. An unpretentious observer with a clear eye for emotional details, Tucker bonded easily with soldiers and assembled a website offering bits and pieces about the impact...
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Hail for the Chief
Some might say the young men and women of the armed forces have been standing in for Dubya since the first inauguration. Hey, wake up Poppy Bush! (caption: ” Inauguration staff serve as stand-ins for the Bush family during a rehearsal on Capitol Hill.” image: Jahi Chikwendiu in...
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Teddy Roosevelt Gave Me An Earful
Is Larry Downing perseverating? In consecutive days, these two high profile White House photos were framed with famous Presidents in the background. The first, taken Tuesday, shows Michael Chertoff with Teddy Roosevelt’s left boot practically in his ear. Chertoff was speaking as the new Secretary...
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Nature On The Screen
The subject of TV seems to be jumping out at me lately. First, I happened to pick up of a copy of Middle Mind by Curtis Wright White. Wright believes people preoccupy themselves with television, in spite how boring it is, for fear of falling out of sync with...
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Just Tell Us Where It Hurts
send this cartoon to a friend! (In the Bush/Rove language dictionary, is “election” the translation for democracy?)
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Fashion of the Times
The other day, I was speculating as to whether the South Asia disaster story would have legs. The kind featured in this photo in Saturday’s NYTimes, however, was not what I was referring to. In a post last Thursday ("The Events of December 26th, 2004), I described my initial...
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Your Turn: Bush at the Garden
If you’ve been following the blog, or you get what I’m doing, or you’re one of those visual studies student who’s been getting a little tired of the professor’s brilliance, I invite you to lend your analysis to this image. It was published in a special NYTimes “Year in...
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If It Ain't Broke, Fix It
Back in November, The Atlantic published a wonderful article by William Langewiesche called “Welcome to the Green Zone.” (Unfortunately, it is no longer available on line without a subscription.) The piece was an in depth look into the operation and mindset of the Coalition Provisional Authority — the American...
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George Bush: The Sequel (Or: "The Rove Script")
You’re Karl Rove. You’re probably the best screenwriter (and script doctor) in the history of American politics. You just got your man re-elected by squeezing every little last bit of juice you could out of the 9/11 episode. The story line you built, though, (“Terror War”) is wearing thin,...
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The Events of December 26th, 2004
If you’d have asked me Monday morning (exactly one week after) where this tidal wave story was headed, I would have probably voted for obscurity. How come? Because the Christmas holiday — typically a dormant news period — was ending; the President had already "caught up" with the disaster...
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"Family Matters In A Lot Of Places"
send this cartoon to a fellow skeptic! Before concluding the White House has completely succumbed to altruism, consider all the fabulous new material Rove now has to work with. It looks like one part of the agenda might involve the advance of the Bush dynasty. Although Governor Bush has...
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The Line Forms at the Chopper
In the past 48 hours, there have been numerous reports of “logistical problems” and “delays in the command structure” in supplying aid to Banda Aceh. The stories suggest a pattern of subtle resistance by the Indonesian government and military to outside involvement. Relief agencies have been complaining, and the...
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Looking Up to the West
With its literal and symbolic reference to higher powers, I can only imagine how straight forward this kind of image must be to Bush’s religious fundamentalist, as well as his neoconservative support. But, what is the message? Is it suggesting that the West (assuming the helicopter is British) is...
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The Politics of Disaster (or Vice-Versa)
Here is the lead image that ran in Sunday’s NYTimes. Overall, it could be seen to kick-off the political phase of the tsunami crisis. In general terms, some of the questions it raises are: Who gets the relief? According to what priority? Who will end up with their hands...
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