🏌️Finally, a meme that doesn’t reference his appearance
How much does a public figure’s on-screen image matter over what they actually say? That was a question after last week’s congressional hearings with former special counsel Robert Mueller and a common question after debates. The Democrats meet tonight and tomorrow night in Detroit for their second debate and I’ll be watching for their visual body language. Email me at hunter@yellozine.com with moments that stand out to you or other thoughts.
Yours,
🏌️ Finally, a meme that doesn’t reference his appearance
When President Trump took the stage at the Turning Point USA’s Teen Student Action Summit last week, one of the screens behind him briefly showed a parody presidential seal. It poked fun at his golf habit and connections to Russia, while avoiding one of the most common tropes for images critical of Trump: his appearance.
Created by graphic designer Charles Leazott, the seal shows a two-headed eagle, a symbol used in Russia’s coat of arms. The eagle holds golf clubs and money in its talons instead of an olive branch and arrows, and the scroll above its head features a Latin phrase for “45 is a puppet” rather than “E pluribus unum” for “out of many one.”
Turning Point USA said the visual gaffe was “a last-minute A/V mistake” but still fired the person responsible. Regardless, Leazott told the Washington Post whoever was responsible for it is his “absolute hero.”
The image has since become a meme on the left. Under the username OneTermDonnie, Leazott sells the parody seal on clothing and other items. It was projected onto a building in San Francisco, and in Washington, it was shown on screen during a concert by Blondie and Elvis Costello (see above image, by Steve Chazanow). You can see a video clip of the moment here.
Since Trump entered presidential politics, countless images have mocked the way he looks, from his unusual hair and orange skin to his weight and even genitalia. After four years, it’s become tired and trite (I truly never need to see that baby Trump balloon ever again).
Leazott’s parody seal is much more subtle than an overweight, bright orange Trump, and a lot more clever too. Rather than focusing on his appearance, the image focuses on criticism of Trump’s campaign and presidency.
📸 How Warren takes so many photos
In the age of Instagram, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) campaign has figured out a strategy for efficiently managing the selfie line. The New York Times broke down the process, showing how attendees interact with multiple campaign staffers who take their bags and pass their phones to a dedicated photographer (Warren’s body woman, Kate Keefe, is the “go-to”). The photographer is positioned to shoot the attendees with Warren in front of a flag before passing their phones down the line. Warren’s campaign said she’s taken photos with about 38,000 people since announcing her candidacy.
👶 Williamson proposes new government agency, complete with mock-up seal
Author and Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has proposed a new government agency, the Department of Children and Youth, and put out a seal to promote it. Williamson wrote on Instagram that taking care of children would be her administration’s “highest priority.”
🎨 JR nominated for an Emmy
Artist JR has been nominated for an Emmy for “Guns in America.” Made for Time magazine’s November 5, 2018 issue, the piece is up for an award in the “Outstanding New Approaches: Current News” category.
JR photographed 245 people for the piece and it has been turned into an exhibition that’s shown in 10 states plus the District of Columbia. I caught it in New York City in October after it was vandalized with a red “11” for the 11 victims of the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue.
🏛️ There’s an underwater memorial off the coast of Florida
An underwater memorial honoring veterans was installed last week 10 miles off the coast of Pinellas County, Florida. Called “Circle of Heroes Veterans Reef,” it includes 6-foot tall concrete statues honoring the five branches of the military. The nonprofit that raised money for the monument hopes veterans suffering from PTSD, depression, or trauma can benefit from visiting.
“It’s a dive destination — yes,” Brighter Future Florida director John White told the Military Times last month. “But it’s also going to give back to the veterans that may be able to benefit from it.”
💿 Chance gets high
Chance the Rapper referenced former first lady Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” line from the 2016 Democratic National Convention on his debut album for the track “We Go High.” You can spin the song here.
📺 There’s Confederate drag and an army of BBQ Beckys in Vic Mensa’s new music video
Musician Vic Mensa packed the music video for his song “3 Years Sober” with political references, including a (not very convincing) Vice President Pence impersonator. In the video, Mensa dresses in drag, wearing makeup, a wig, and a Confederate flag dress. At one point he enters a diner filled with BBQ Beckys, a meme referencing a white woman who called the cops on a group of black people having a cookout at a park.
Mensa anticipated reaction to the video would be influenced by race. “I know some in hip hop culture will see this and say ‘Vic’s gay’ (which I’m not), whereas if I was white they’d just say ‘he’s a rockstar,’” he wrote in the video’s description. He called the video “a statement about identity.”
💅 Cardi B got a sit down with Bernie Sanders in a nail salon
A month after asking her Instagram followers what questions they had for Democratic candidates, Cardi B got to ask some of them to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Last night on Instagram, the rapper posted a photo with Sanders and wrote in the caption that she selected the most popular submissions to ask. “LETS LEARN OUR CANDIDATES!” she wrote. Video of the interview is forthcoming.
⚡ Yello Field Guide:
🤠 It’s no wonder Lil Nas X doesn’t want to weigh in on the Democratic primary
For paid subscribers: While our politics today are often those of division, Lil Nas X set a pop agenda of coalition building. Read the story here.
While Yello’s weekly newsletter is free, paid subscribers get free exclusive articles each week in the Yello Field Guide. Sign up here to read and support Yello’s mission to cover the culture, branding, and visual rhetoric of politics in America:
Follow @yello_zine on Twitter and Instagram.
What did you think of this week’s issue? Respond to this email with feedback.