Meanwhile, in North Korea…
In front of our noses: Authoritarian symbolism. (Yes, a cross-over ep!)
So not only does this fall under the “Meanwhile, in North Korea…” category, which is aimed at demonstrating ways in which Trump and his allies engage in authoritarian symbolism and behavior, but it is also right in front of our noses and the kind of thing that is too easy to get used to.
While I have mentioned these banners before, I think it is worthwhile to point the reader to his piece in The Atlantic, Trump’s Giant Face Is Everywhere.
Authoritarian leaders want their face in your face. Their ubiquitous images personalize the state, making it synonymous with one man’s power. And they turn the citizen’s relationship with that leader into an emotional one. Mao had the Mona Lisa thing down well. In the 20-foot-tall portrait that still hangs over the gate to Tiananmen Square, he seems to be smiling in a way that could seem kindly, but also menacing, or at the very least projecting the kind of watchfulness that seems like a threat.
Adulation and fear are not the only goals. To me, the everywhere portrait also seems intended to create a sense, through repetition, that the leader is an organic, immutable part of the landscape. A truism among brand consultants is that for a campaign to be effective, a potential consumer needs to see the same slogan or hear the same jingle multiple times until it feels almost natural—what other soap or cereal could you possibly buy? What other president could you imagine than the one whose gigantic face is everywhere?
Check out the photos and videos at the link.
Particularly where the felon can see them. Here in the provinces, if I’m in a public space or a business that has a picture of a president on the wall, it is a yellowed copy of JFK’s Presidential portrait.
Thinking about it, I haven’t been in a post office for a while, but that would be a good setting for a felon’s picture.
@Sleeping Dog: Speaking of the “felon,” isn’t the DOJ building’s banner a replica of Trump’s Georgia mug shot? I don’t know who down in hell is more jealous – Goebbels or PT Barnum?
@Charley in Cleveland:
Yes. Yes, it is.
@Kathy:
I’m not sure if they’re one and the same. He told his admirers that he wanted to look mean and tough in his mugshot, and indeed he does seem to look more churlish in the mugshot than in the banner.
Trump certainly seems to conflate the United States of America (as an entity, not just the government) with his personal self. Hence his assertion that the Strait of Hormuz would be controlled by “me,” and even more so his comment to the Japanese reporter “why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor.” (Emphasis mine) Never mind that the statement was all kinds of stupid on its face, that personalization really stuck out to me