January 11, 2008

This Just In: the cutest picture of Bill and Hillary ever.


Start. Gushing. Now. 

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

i wonder who he's thinking about in this picture...

Anonymous said...

start. puking. now.

Justin said...

From the Washington Post:

Take, for example, his 1992 photo of Hillary and Bill Clinton. What you see is an awww-inspiring photo of two people who seem very much in love. The viewer, however, might be happier appreciating the image and not reading the wall caption. For there it is revealed that Benson set it up. "Spotting the hammock in the garden of the Governor's Mansion," it reads, "he persuaded Clinton and his wife Hillary to climb in."

He set it up and they were in on the setup. The whole thing is not so much the capture of a spontaneous, character-revealing moment as an elaborate exercise in image enhancement.

You ask yourself, is the emotion presented in the photo all hokum? Is it a campaign ad flying under the colors of a news photograph with the corrupt complicity of and at the instigation of the photographer? Or is it only partial hokum, an act for the camera by two people who are certainly professional politicians but who also actually do have feelings for each other and who have had many moments like this?

Either way, you liked the picture more when you thought of it as capturing the unguarded emotions of people in a complex relationship, before you started thinking of it as two complex people in a complex relationship engaging in a sales job.

Anonymous said...

god, people are so sad these days

Anonymous said...

I don't know why, but I just can't stand that woman

Anonymous said...

Justin: what you say is true, but if you still believe that photojournalism isn't nearly always staged, then you haven't been paying attention.

Unless you want to openly question every photo you see – and feel free to do so, though it takes a lot of work – what matters most is the image itself. I certainly won't go so far as to say that the method of production is irrelevant, but unless the photo is actively doctored or otherwise fraudulent then it's pretty much fair game. In fact, I find it downright strange that the Post bothered to mention the circumstances surrounding the shot.

Justin said...

With respect, Anonymous @ 1:30, I didn't "say" anything.

Joel Garreau of the Washington Post wrote something about the photo, and I found it interesting. The words and beliefs are his. I would caution you against making assumptions about things that I'd "say" or "believe" based on an article published in the WaPo's Arts section.

I would also caution you against assuming that I "haven't been paying attention." :-P

Anonymous said...

I don't care how fucking cute they are, they're still fucking fascists.

Anonymous said...

i like that you can see the imprint of the hammock on bill's arm.

noa said...

Justin - I also mistook those for your words, after the first paragraphs. Maybe it was the line breaks.

Anonymous said...

where's hil's right hand?

Anonymous said...

hahahaha anonymous@3:29. I love you.

Anonymous said...

Probably emasculating Bill, if I had to guess.

Anonymous said...

Well, at least today her outside is closer to representing her inside appearance.

steadyjohn said...

Probably emasculating Bill, if I had to guess

..into the "Testicle Lock Box" LOL

X said...

emasculating Bill? into the testicle lock box?
FYI: We're not in the 50s anymore!

say what you will about Hillary's policies, ideas, experience, but let me assure you, showing that you're threatened by a powerful woman is utterly irrelevant.

I suggest you get comfortable in the kitchen.

Anonymous said...

I didn't mean showing him up politically, i meant literally tearing his balls off.

And I am quite comfortable in the kitchen. After all, it's my girlfriend that has to cook in the nude.

Anonymous said...

I suggest you get comfortable in the kitchen.

Quite comfortable in the kitchen, thanks; naked or clothed!

Lindsey said...

If they get elected, I'm moving back to Europe. OBAMA '08