Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/25/documentary-on-obama-white-house-photographer-pete-souza.html
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I hope it also covers his post-Obama precision trolling of trump. It’s worth revisiting.
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If it weren’t for this guy, I wouldn’t have anything to hang in my locker
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Souza does an amazing job of pointing out what a class act we had as a national leader for 8 years. Thanks, you’re ability to capture history lives on.
Now, where did all these onions come from…
EDIT: Spelling.
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Look at the second embedded trailer. I believe you will be pleased when you do.
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It makes one appreciate just how much previous administrations’ photographers were able to humanize their subjects by having photographs of so many unscripted moments. Whether or not you liked the president, a well timed candid shot can really add gravitas to a moment.
Trump’s is unique in how opaque he is with the public. There are few unscripted WH photographs of him working or with his family. I’m sure this is fully intentional but it does little to humanize him. Maybe he feels it makes him seem more powerful or interesting but it really doesn’t.
Just look at the official White House Flickr feed:
(Picture is a clickable link to Flickr. Not sure why it doesn’t OneBox properly. Cc: @codinghorror)
Compositionally, there’s some beautiful photographs here. The WH photographer is clearly skilled at taking good photos. But every single one is Trump boarding a plane, Trump leaving a plane, Trump talking to a crowd, Trump with a mic in his face, Trump behind a desk. There’s nothing that demonstrates an ounce of charm, gravity, or humanity for the subject. Worse yet they normalize everything Trump does and when stripped of any context they don’t convey even an ounce of the daily horrors of his administration.
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It does.
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Great movie. Highly recommended.
Er… it looks oneboxed just fine to me? 
Here’s what it looks like for me (iOS 14 Safari):
It just looks like I pasted an image, not like a typical onebox. (I’ve even tried turning off content blockers and it didn’t make any difference.)
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It looks that way to me, too.
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As those features don’t exist in the subject, they’d have to be photoshopped in later.
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I remember reading Shooter, the autobiography of Gerald Ford’s official White House photographer, David Hume Kennerly. Apparently there was a made-for-TV movie made from it.
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At least with Reagan, you could visualize him padding about in his pajamas with Nancy in the upper floor of the WH. His policies were terrible, but he was human. With Trump, I just wouldn’t be surprised if he ripped off his own face at one of his cabinet meetings and came out as a lizardperson: “Guys! I’m reptile and proud!”
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