I saw that Annie Liebowitz took this photo of the president and his family, and at first I sorta was wondering why you had to have someone of such huge stature, and possibly of such a huge financial cost, to take what looks like, at first glance, a normal photograph of a family.
But I'm trying to have a new perspective on things like this, and I am going to assume that the Obama family and the administration didn't have to pay for Leibowitz's time...and that she, out of the goodness of her heart, paid for her own travel, food and room service. That kind of "in good faith" thinking takes all of my will to muster up - it really does.
So let's remove that aspect from the equation and look at this as a photograph, which I am clearly not trained to do, but I guess I am allowed to have an opinion of it, right?
The picture really is incredible. My first thought was that his 2 kids are really cute kids. I don't think that very often - I mean, I recognize why people think their own children are astounding, and at times all children, some more than others, have moments of unbearable cuteness, but these kids are past that age. They are both at the age where things could get real dicey from "how cute are you" standpoint, and they both look very well put together, confident and exhuberant, but not showstealers. I really hope this is coming off as a compliment to them, b/c it is.
I love how they are all connected, through holding hands or draping arms over each other - sends a really cool message. And they are all fit, they are all healthy and fit people. The idea that the leading family of our country exemplifies health and fitness, I think it's pretty cool. And keep in mind, this is going to be a "thing" going forward...this isn't going to go away. This type of activity, and activism, could be the next big movement this administration pushes for.
I think of Hilary Clinton during the 1990's, and she is, in my mind, synonymous with the Health Care debate. I don't think its outside of the realm of possibility to look back at the 2008-2012 (?) Michelle Obama years as the time where she brought physical fitness and overall health, explicitly for children, to the forefront.
But the real symbolism comes from the fact that you cannot help but be completely overwhelmed by the fact that this is the First Family. The background doesn't suggest royalty. It may suggest opulence sure, but there isn't an ounce of regality and/or pretension in the background. Pictures, chairs, fireplace, vase...its not like there is a big dumb golden eagle with firecrackers up its nostrils or anything, its just a big house, which we all know they live in. No need to hide it.
There were recent articles about Michelle Obama's lineage, her roots to slavery and also slave owners being in her blood, and you have to get some kind of chill when you think back, to right around 200 bones ago when DC was a swampy mudpit that slaves turned into our Nation's Capital. You gotta think back to when Adams first arrived at the White House with Abigail and how torn they were that slavery literally put the bricks in place for the building that would serve as the epicenter of decision-making and legislation in this Country.
And here they are...the Obamas. The picture is powerful, it is compelling, and I go back to thinking about how maybe if this image did cost the taxpayers some dollars it may have been worth it.
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