Boehner's Ciggy
If we already know Washington is a lot more like Hollywood than real life, this photo is a profoundly rare everyday visual example of it, helping us to actually see with our own eyes how little correlation there is between personality and behavior, and the communications and scenes were...
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More War Branding: Chevy Brings Heros Home
No, this Chevy ad doesn't have the buzz factor of the subtle Bud "Gay's in the military" tribute, it just panders straight out.
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Paul Ryan "Listening" and the Point of the Flag
With last night's blue bellweather win in NY-26, these photos --easily missed in late April -- assert and start to clarify the dynamic between the Republican agenda and the public, particularly seniors.
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Kandahar and the Distraction War
Just thought we'd take a brief look at some routine media practices in light of the brazen Taliban assault on the government and security infrastructure in Kandahar.
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Framing Osama (and Obama)
If the point here is that bin Laden was overly scripted -- as well as overly concerned with his image, given the fact his beard is jet black while in other time-related pics and vids it is grey -- I give the DoD and the White House about a...
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Scott Walker: The Factory Photo-Op
Here's the photo of Scott Walker addressing factory workers that got picked up by the AP, and which also ran in yesterday's NYT update article. Great visual, right? ...By design, that's true.
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So Long Larry: My Favorite Summers Shot
The timing of this portrait was as interesting as the image itself, coming just six days after Obama's inauguration and helping set, or better yet, confuse the tone of what was billed as a progressive new Administration.
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The Beck/Palin Roadshow: Take a Lesson
Overall, I continue to appreciate Glenn Beck's brilliant reframing of the Tea Party* and the extremistic messaging of the far right, building on his huge rally in D.C. on the anniversary of MLK's "I have a dream" speech. In this shot from Beck/Palin's rally on 9/11 this weekend...
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Will the Last Regiment to Leave Iraq Please Turn ON the Lights
Looking at this photo from the brilliant AP propaganda slideshow of the U.S. leaving Iraq last week, I could help thinking of this cartoon.
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A 2nd Reason Glenn Luther King Hit it Out of the Park in DC – They Left the Signs at Home
In removing signs from his rally at the Washington Memorial, Beck did more than just conjure up the appearance of sanctity and kumbaya. He also transferred the picture of anger and hysteria onto the
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The Tiger Morality Play (Cha-Ching)
Have you seen the new Masters commercial? Nike assumes the fallen Tiger has undergone a moral re-education ... for more woooshing profits. Have you seen the new Masters commercial? Nike assumes the fallen Tiger has undergone a moral re-education ... for more woooshing profits.
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Afghan Update: I’m Sure You’re Dying to Have Your Picture Taken
Maybe there's a reason -- besides the success of the surge -- that we're seeing fewer photos of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan.
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John and Elizabeth Edwards: Psycho Mutants, or Just Political Run-of-the-Mill?
The critical take-away here is to avoid vilifying or pathologizing John and Elizabeth Edwards, then walking away. The point and the opportunity, instead, (although lost on NY Mag) is to appreciate how much personality framing propagated by the handlers and perpetuated by the media makes it near impossible to...
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Best of the Bag Decade: BAG Looks at the Iraq War
(The Best of the Bag Decade is our end of the year, end of the decade look at some of the best BAGnews posts and analysis.) The Iraq War has been (and still is) a frequent subject on BAGnews and, frankly, such a topic of government and media spin...
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Champagne Days
After eeking out Senate vote just to START health debate, Harry Reid making love, if cute, not so sweet.
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The Relevance of BAGnews
Let's face it, pixels are playing a fundamental role both in the political and culture wars as well as the commercialization of visual culture. BAGnews is a response, an alternative, and an evolving mission to speak truth to visual power.
Continue ReadingThose Talking White House Walls
Rachel Maddow looks at what's on the walls in the White House reality show.
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