The camera does lie

Those brought up with the belief that the camera does not lie should look again.

Published: Thu 19 Dec 2013, 8:30 PM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 10:40 AM

Not only does that fabled equipment lie, it has also been clicked in the act of grossly misinforming, misleading and contributing to misinterpretations. And these are not just inconsequential allegations based on the fact that Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lawrence et al have got their cover images airbrushed to look slimmer. The matter at hand is much graver: That of US President Barack Obama shooting himself in the foot — or should it be head? — literally.

This is the curious case of the selfie, the photograph taken by the president of himself and a fetching Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who was seated next to him at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. The image might have remained private on the mobile phone of the president had not an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer happened to shoot Obama in the act. As the AFP image, that shows the two world leaders as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron giggling while US First Lady Michelle Obama looks the other way, stony faced, went viral, eclipsing the service and even the handshake between Obama and Havana leader Raul Castro, acerbic comments began to pour in. They ranged from angry censure of the giggling leaders for behaving unbecomingly during a solemn occasion to suggestions of a marital discord in the Obama family. So great was the force of the disapproval that the White House released its own photographs, showing the US president in more becoming postures, while the AFP photographer said the media had blown the matter out of proportion.

Now that it has been indicated that there is no rift in the US First Family, and the Obama-Cameron-Thorning-Schmidt trio were only reacting to the infectious South African joie de vivre around them, perhaps the White House protocol department should add one more rule of presidential engagement in order to avoid future embarassments. It’s a simple one handed down by the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns. Roughly translated, it says: O would some power the gift give us/To see ourselves as others see us/It would from many a blunder free us/And foolish notion...