This site contains images and excerpts the use of which have not been pre-authorized. This material is made available for the purpose of analysis and critique, as well as to advance the understanding of political, media and cultural issues. The ‘fair use’ of such material is provided for under U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with U.S. Code Title 17, Section 107, material on this site (along with credit links and attributions to original sources) is viewable for educational and intellectual purposes. If you are interested in using any copyrighted material from this site for any reason that goes beyond ‘fair use,’ you must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Bag’s Take-Away:
What’s remarkable about yesterday’s White House “Photo of the Day?”
Nothing. …Except that, on the day Gaddafi was killed, the Libyan’s spontaneously celebrated their liberation from forty years of deranged rule and the Administration could claim another major erasure off the “deadly enemies and dreaded evil dictator’s list,” the PR machine was touting a routine and completely unrelated award ceremony in the Blue Room.
On the one hand, you can call that “the Obama cool.” On the other hand, you know he’d be crucified for grandstanding.
(photo: Pete Souza/White House caption: President Barack Obama greets the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal recipients in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a medal ceremony in the East Room, Oct. 20, 2011. The Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian honor, recognizes Americans who perform “exemplary deeds of service.”)
—————
Topping LIFE.com’s 2011 list of Best Photo Blogs, follow us at: BagNewsNotes; BAG Twitter; BAG Facebook; Bag by Email.
Bag’s Take-Away:
Ben Ali, Muammar and Hosni last October — just ahead of “the Spring.” Should have checked their horoscopes.(photo: DPA caption: By 2010, Gadhafi was one of the longest-serving despots on the African continent. Here, he is seen with Tunisian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in October 2010. Both of them were toppled in mass protests earlier this year.)
—————
Topping LIFE.com’s 2011 list of Best Photo Blogs, follow us at: BagNewsNotes; BAG Twitter; BAG Facebook; Bag by Email.
Bag’s Take-Away:
My first take on Gaddafi’s attacked-riddled face? It’s the picture of bin Laden we weren’t allowed to see.(photo: AFP/Getty Images)
—————
Topping LIFE.com’s 2011 list of Best Photo Blogs, follow us at: BagNewsNotes; BAG Twitter; BAG Facebook; Bag by Email.
Bag’s Take-Away:
Stairway to heaven? Here’s what you can do with your red carpet? Given how hard it is to find Middle East dictators after they get the boot, my title for this shot from the Lens blog would be: “Flight to the Desert.”—————
Topping LIFE.com’s 2011 list of Best Photo Blogs, follow us at: BagNewsNotes; BAG Twitter; BAG Facebook; Bag by Email.
Bag’s Take-Away:
At first, I couldn’t see photog Christopher Morris in Libya, his style so wonderfully satiric and dark. But Ghaddafi is actually great material for him, especially this shot combining humor (“insane dictator as merch”) and a wistfulness over the fragile hopes of Libya’s youth.
(photo: Christopher Morris for TIME caption: Topper: A young man sports a Gaddafi hat.
Full photo gallery: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2057558_2252638,00.html
—————
For the latest in visual politics, visit BagNewsNotes (and follow us on Twitter).
