Sarah Palin: someone who can be trusted?

 

 

I chose Sarah Palin’s official portrait as my photograph, which is also on her official website, and there are two things that struck me most about this picture. First, she is looking staight at the viewer and into the camera, and her body and face are completely square and facing forward. this gives her the image of frankness. she is almost leaning forward with her arms inverted, like she is leaning into to tell whoever she may be looking at a secret. this makes her seem more personable and friendly, like a girlfriend that can be trusted. i think it is in this way that it is a very feminized photograph, for i dont think there are any pictures of john mccain, barack obama, or joe biden (or any male politicians, for that matter) with quite the same posture, leaning forward with both arms in. we can see that her campaign is really pushing the “first female vice president” idea. this seems to be a different approach from, for example, the picture of palin with the freshly shot elk, where she is portrayed as “the first vice female president who is also quite rustic and outdoorsy. look how rugged she is! that is exactly how she will protect our country.” here, she is a woman VP contender who will keep your secrets, america’s secrets, and has nothing to hide from us. as george bush may be to many people “the president you could have a beer with”, plain is depicted as “the VP you could have a cup of tea with, and then polish off a rack of elk meat”. she is feminine, yet strong and honest looking, which is probably an important aspect of her and mccain’s campaigning because the trust americans have in republicans has been slowly dwindling within the past…eight years.

a second thing i noticed right away was the color of her suit, bright red, a risky choice for such an official photograph. this not only contributes to making palin more “feminized”, for a red suit is probably only appropriate for a woman to wear when campaining in politics (imagine john mccain in a red suit?!?) At the same time, however, red is also a very aggressive color, and red amkes her not only stand out more but makes her seem like a “go-getter”, someone who is assertive and will make her assertive nature known, by force if necessary.

the depictions in this photograph, then, are manipulating the viewer into associating many things with palin: assertiveness and frankness, as well as feminine and someone who can be trusted.

McCain, McCain, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, no one can!

Here’s our buddy, John McCain, the guy who always puts his country first.

The first photo is the banner on his official home page, the welcome mat to his “Ready From Day One” biography of his career.  The photo is a three-quarter view of the candidate, beckoning the viewer to look towards one of his campaign slogans, “Always Putting Country First”.  The bold white letters against the blue background are evocative of the 50 white stars against a blue backdrop that can be found on our nation’s flag.  This connection isn’t hard to make since there are actually stars displayed faintly in the background; they really don’t leave much to the imagination, do they?

The position of McCain’s face suggests the “looking towards the future” ideal, and I assume that he is referencing the future of our country since he is always putting it first.  The future McCain is looking towards is outlined in his biography below the picture, which discusses his mission to reform Washington.  The stars in this case could also be viewed as suggestive of the universe, which lends itself to the whole “gazing into the future” idea; McCain must be shooting for the stars!

The actual image of his face is softly lit, which emphasizes his wrinkles a bit, and it does the same thing for his white hair.  He is formal in this image, wearing his suit and giving a speech in an arena in the photo that sits on the other end of the banner.  These are like his “game-face” photos, showing his professionalism and animation on the floor.  The picture to the left plays up his grandfather appeal quite a bit, making him a paternal figure looking over our nation.  You might even say God-like.

Ironically, just underneath this banner, is another three-quarter shot of McCain, this time in his “I’m the average, all-American guy that lives next door to you” baseball cap and button down.  I would bet anything that he’s probably got a pair of Levi’s on too.  This picture stands in juxtaposition to the first, making his wrinkles seem more like laugh lines and showing off his full set of teeth- not dentures!  The baseball cap (reading NAVY- still putting country first!) hides his white hair, as well as all the forehead wrinkles.  This picture seems to be acting as a balancing act to reach audiences of all ages and interests.

Obama goes “Old School”

“A photograph is a mirror, what we are asked to read is the familiar, the known; it offers to the voter his own likeness, but clarified, exalted, superbly elevated into a type” (1465). If we take a look at this photograph of Barack Obama, from his official website, and compare it to the ones I have selected of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy- we definitely see the “familiar” that Barthes speaks of. The essence of King and Kennedy is echoed through this photo of Obama. Not only is Obama’s photo in Black and White like those of Kennedy and King, but the some of the components of their photos are repeated in his. The view of Obama is between a full and three-quarter face, as is King’s; and he also is casting his eyes upward as Kennedy does in his photograph. As Barthes tells us, “a three-quarter face…suggests the tyranny of an ideal: the gaze is lost nobly in the future, it does not confront, it soars” and when the eyes look above, “the face is lifted towards a supernatural light which draws it up and elevates it to the realm of a higher humanity” (1465).

It is as if Obama it trying to even further distance himself from the current administration and their agendas by transcending time. He has created a “throw back” to a time when things were in some ways simpler and more hopeful; a time when the American people had faith and belief in their candidates. JFK was such a popular president, a man of the people- to attempt to emulate his spirit through this photograph is a smart choice. Also, through evoking the character of King he is showing not only his support for minorities in this country, but also his publicized platform for “Change.” What two Americans would be a better choice to echo in this photograph? Through the likeness in Obama’s photo, to the above photos of King and Kennedy, he is calling on the youth, spirit, racial awareness, charisma, determination and wisdom of these two men.

When looking at this photo I notice the “thumbs up,” perhaps a subliminal “every thing’s going to be ok” to the American people; as well as the waving flag in the background representing his patriotism. The phrase “Meet the Candidate” implies that he is the only choice- he is “THE” candidate to win, “THE” candidate to lead this nation. Another element of this photo that really stands out to me is the “halo” effect that has been imposed on Obama’ image. This greatly adds to the elevation of his persona, in this photo there really is a “supernatural light” that adds to the candidate’s “blessed” persona. I think that through the attractiveness and magnificence of the image and the apparent correlation with past photos of iconic, celebrated men- it is clear that Barack Obama fits Barthes category of the “good-looking chap, whose obvious credentials are his health and his virility” (1465).

-HIQ

 

 

McCain and Palin’s publicity

After the last post, I was curious to see what the publicity team of the McCain/Palin team had done for their official photograph:

The first aspect of this photograph that jumped up at me was the height of its two subjects: here, Palin is seen to be the exact same height as McCain, going so far as to painfully position her shoulders above his to make this equal height possible. Since the campaign is banking on feminist voters, displaying Palin as the exact height of McCain is important, showing that they have equal power and that she is not beneath him in any way, not even horizontally.

The second noticeable aspect is the lighting. Clearly McCain and Palin did not come together for a photoshoot to make this publicity possible. The light angles come from different sides of their faces, shadowing their adjacent sides. I noticed the same thing in the Obama/Biden photo, which strikes me as slightly odd. A more interesting note on the lighting is the intensity of the light: in the above photograph, clearly Palin is much more vibrant than the subdued and rosy McCain. The lighting is brighter on Palin, and the viewer’s attention is much more attracted to her face than McCain’s.  This is also true with color. The contrast on McCain’s skin tones is softer, more subdued than that of Palin’s. In addition, the clothes McCain wears are less striking–the suit’s blacks are not as black as they could have been, and his tie choice is a light and passable tone–in contract to the vibrant red of Palin’s shirt.

I’m also intrigued by the choice of background image.  In the above photo, we have two patriotic symbols, as if the Republican Party seems desperate to push the notion that their candidates are the true supporters of America.

In addition, in the above photograph and throughout the last few months, I’ve noticed that Palin is never seen without her glasses. Regardless of her prescription needs, I feel here they are used to impress a sense of her as an intellectual. This is reminiscent of Barthe’s description of the psychological effects of the full face photograph (of which this is): “A full-face photograph underlines the realistic outlook of the candidate, especially if he is provided with scrutinizing glasses. Everything there expresses penetration, gravity, frankness: the future deputy is looking squarely at the enemy, the obstacle, the ‘problem.’ “

Barthes and the Politics of Electoral Photography

As I have been revisiting Roland Barthes’ classic work of cultural criticism, Mythologies, it strikes me that in this time of a national presidential election, the essay “Photography and Electoral Appeal” is particularly relevant. Although Barthes is writing specifically about the French electoral process, his more general observations about the way political campaigns use photographs seem completely applicable to the current American context. As Barthes observes, the use of photographs in campaigns “presupposes that photography has a power to convert,” and despite the importance of video, the single arresting still image remains the trump card in the political deck (or the wild card, as a photograph of a candidate can also have the power to convert potential voters in the other direction) (91).

Photography, Barthes writes, reveals “something deep and irrational co-extensive with politics” (91). Photography constitutes “an anti-intellectual weapon and tends to spirit away ‘politics’ (that is to say a body of problems and solutions) to the advantage of a ‘manner of being,’ a socio-moral status” (91). To put this in the parlance of American politics, the presidential election is about “character” (a “manner of being”), or at least that’s the way it’s presented in the media. Although during elections citizens often say they wish they knew more about a candidate’s stance on the issues, the emphasis in campaign coverage (and in campaigns) tends toward the issue of character (“judgment,” “toughness”) over the nuts and bolts of policy—thus, the inane “which candidate would you rather have a beer with” debates. Photographs serve the function of reinforcing that socio-moral status, and we often see campaigns wrangling to define the meaning of a particular image (do photographs of Barack Obama speaking in Germany convey “the gravitas of a world leader” or merely reveal the “superficiality of his celebrity status”?).

Barthes goes on to note that the “conventions of photography . . . are themselves replete with signs” (92). That is, in addition to the actual content of a particular photograph (candidate stands with chest decorated with military medals, signifying patriotism, courage, valor), the conventions of portraiture itself convey meaning. Here I want to share a long quotation from Barthes on how and what particular photographic conventions signify:

A full-face photograph underlines the realistic outlook of the candidate. . . . Everything there expresses penetration, gravity, frankness: the future deputy is looking squarely at the enemy, the obstacle, the ‘problem.’ A three-quarter face photograph, which is more common, suggests the tyranny of an ideal: the gaze is lost nobly in the future, it does not confront, it soars, and fertilizes some other domain, which is chastely left undefined. Almost all three-quarter face photos are ascensional, the face is lifted towards a supernatural light which draws it up and elevates it to the realm of higher humanity; the candidate reaches the Olympus of elevated feelings, where all political contradictions are solved. (92-93).

Interestingly, Barthes does not discuss photographs that emphasize the profile. Perhaps they do not exist in political photography? A profile might suggest that something is being hidden?

Barthes provides us with a starting point for examining the rhetoric of photographs used in the current presidential campaign. Just guessing, I would say that most of the Barack Obama photographs that are used officially in the campaign will follow the three-quarter model, and I would guess as well that “straight talk” John McCain would favor the full-face photograph (and, if memory serves, such full-face photographs have dominated the Bush presidency).

American politics, however, does have it’s own rhetoric, and I’m not quite sure what Barthes would make of this photograph of Sarah Palin.

The image of politician as successful hunter has a long history in American politics. For example, note this drawing of Theodore Roosevelt, from the frontispiece of his 1885 book Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. Roosevelt had just finished 3 terms in the New York State Legislature and was preparing to run for mayor of New York City (a race he lost, although he would eventually become Governor of New York, and eventually Vice President and then President of the US).

Roosevelt’s book about his western adventures was all part of his reinvention of his image, using the imagery of the frontiersman to add some pioneer spirit to his actual background–member of a wealthy New York family. Other drawings in the book depict the various animals he shot during his hunting trips in the Dakotas.

In Roosevelt’s book, this drawing was titled “Head of Bull Elk,” and had a caption that read, “Shot Sept. 12, 1884.”

The photographs of Palin demonstrating her hunting skills (which were disseminated by the Alaska Office of the Governor) belong to this well-established branch of American political imagery, one that has perhaps developed its own set of conventions and symbolic meanings.

So, now comes the assignment part: Seek out photographs of Obama (and/or Biden) and McCain (and/or Palin), post a photograph of one of the candidates (or a photograph showing both members of the same ticket), and, using Barthes’ observations as a guideline, provide a brief analysis of that photograph as part of your blog entry. Your blog entry should be posted before next week’s class (Tuesday, September 23).

Please note: Focus on photographs that have some official and legitimate source. As we all know, there’s a lot of really trashy stuff to be found on the internet, much of it of dubious authenticity. As the first female candidate for Vice President in the internet era, Sarah Palin in particular has been subjected to some truly tasteless internet posting. Do not post photographs claiming to show any one of our candidates in the nude, wearing a bikini, etc.