posted on Feb, 28 2012 @ 04:35 PM
Originally posted by ltinycdancerg
reply to post by Indellkoffer
Context is everything darlin.
Read the OP again.
Yes, context is everything. But the picture doesn't come with a long, drawn out message about symbolism or what the photographer felt or what
message the photographer thought he was giving. So people who have no real idea see:
* this really huge flag
* this guy with a rather inane expression on his face (caught in the act of speaking.) Why that expression -- it's not very flattering to Ron Paul.
The photographer was surely taking many photos per second and could have picked one with his mouth closed or with an expression that made him look
less inept. I'm sure that fist wasn't up in the air for just 2 microseconds and that's the ONLY shot with the fist.
* the fist is ambiguous. Unless you know about it, you can't tell if it's a fist of support or a fist of opposition because ALL FISTS LOOK ALIKE.
Just for one second (humor me, here) imagine that the image is a tiny "shoulders up" view of Obama with the almost-befuddled expression, with a
huge flag as a backdrop and one tiny fist raised in the air and nothing else. Would that be an image of Obama as powerful? As a "boss?" I don't
think so.
That's what I'm talking about. If he'd gotten the closeup and a better expression with the fist, it would have been more positive towards Paul.
Coppola's 1970 film, "Patton" shows George C Scott marching up against an equally large flag to deliver the opening lines (one of his famous
speeches to the troops.) HOWEVER, it's far more effective (as you can see in the Wikipedia article) -- you see the WHOLE man and he's posed in a
military salute. After that, it zooms in to his face, and the flag does ripple in the wind, giving even the stills of the scene a dynamic feel.
This photo isn't as good as many other "photo of the year" photos. I think the World Press Photo of the Year is FAR more powerful.
www.worldpressphoto.org...
Of course, since it doesn't include Ron Paul, it might not do anything for you. But in terms of composition and story, it's far better.