Friday, July 31, 2009

What is this?

What is it that people (usually young, but not always so young) so often do as soon as anyone wants to take a picture?

They affect this ridiculous looking pout and scrunch their hands up like they have arthritis - sometimes along with cocking one's head.

This is the goofiest thing!

Sometimes even little kids often do it as soon as they see a camera.

I understand the "rabbit ears" prank. I get the peace sign. I get the muscle-flexing pose. I can even understand the gesture the Romans called the "digitus medius." But that whole "pout and arthritis" thing is just plain out there.

It just makes people look like there is something wrong with them. It makes them look ugly. Maybe that's the point. We live in a weird culture where people will spend thousands on cosmetic surgery to look better, but when they get their picture taken, they will contort their faces, adopt a pose of scoliosis, and make their hands look crippled.

Maybe one of FH's readers can make sense of these...





5 comments:

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

What you have are white people trying to act all gangsta-max -- that is the imitation.

Sort of like the church down the street singing those songs that make people think they are Baptists or TV preachers. Same thing. People love to act the fool if they think it will attract attention.

Genuine Lustre said...

LOL - how timely. Just yesterday after seeing yet ANOTHER of these poses, I found myself wondering what in the world this gesture means.
At our house we call these people "whiggers."

Greg said...

This never ceases to bug me as well. I don't know what else to add except that I feel your pain!

Jay Watson said...

The "girl" (sic) in the blue skirt (right under the title of your post) looks like she's also "cutting one" (breaking wind for you scholars)

Rev. Paul Beisel said...

Fr. Hollywood--I too have noticed this strange phenomenon among our nieces on FBook. Amy and I decided to try to imitate this pose. See our pics on my blog.