The fulsome silhouette of the mustache makes for a particularly dreary distraction and seems to pull his whole face downward. It makes Bolton, who is only 56, look hoary and dour. For a man who has shown little evidence of a capacity to charm -- an ability that can come in handy for an ambassador -- the mustache makes him appear unwelcoming. For all of the testimony about his spiteful dealings with both colleagues and underlings, and his denials of such behavior, he managed to look mean.Well, that goes along with my longtime opinion of mustaches: they make men look mean. Charlie Chaplin might be the only exception. Please men! Let us see your philtrum! Nothing makes a man more adorable than a well-shaped philtrum. And nothing uglifies like a mustache!
UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for doing one of those links that people are forced to click on. For some reason that made me Google "philtrum" -- I guess people must Google their "favorite body parts" -- and the incredibly weird thing is that it took me here. Look at that URL! Isn't it a small world -- philtrum-wise?
पोस्ट्स
२८ टिप्पण्या:
To paraphrase Norma Desmond: they are big; it's the papers that got small!
Or perhaps Bolton only needs a friendlier smile: http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2004/2004-01/23-captain_kangaroo-inside.jpg
If you look at the list of articles by the author, it explains a lot. They are all the same. Apparently Ms Givhan is a fashion writer who often comments on the appearance of those in the news.
Rick: I know Givhan's a fashion writer/culture critic type. That is one of my favorite corners of newspaper writing.
Steel: I think those three ARE mean. The mustache is part of a humorous effect. But humorous/mean. When I was a kid, our family watched "You Bet Your Life," and Groucho actually scared me. I couldn't understand why an openly mean man was popular.
I've been thinking about this all morning and I just can't think of a mustache as making a guy look mean. In the 70s I wanted a mustache so badly... but I couldn't really grow one. Years later, they just look old fashioned to me now. When I see a guy with a big droopy 'stache, almost invariably I wonder what made the guy get stuck in the past... like a guy with a pony tail or... this.
Rick, I'm glad I made you fritter away the morning musing about mustaches. I'd say, the upper lip is a part of the face that reveals vulnerability and emotion -- keep a stiff upper lip! -- so cloaking it in hair makes the person seem stern, cold, resolved. Why do fascist dictators go for the mustache?
But a lot of guys have mustaches because the mustache was in style the last time they paid attention to style -- when they were teenagers. The same explanation covers why so many academics and politicians have, essentially, Beatle haircuts.
And following up on that last comment of mine: Lindsey cited Teddy Roosevelt in the first comment on this post. She doesn't think he looks mean. But wasn't TR someone who had to find ways to create a tough guy image to overcome his natural, softer manner?
All these comments about mustaches but no one mentions beards! I've grown a goatee since my attached photo. I thought it would make me look more distinguished and mature! Now I find the mustache makes me look mean! What about in conjunction with the beard? I ponder the effects in my recent contacts with people.
I have pondered returning to being clean-shaven because of my naturally curly hair (trimming the mustache and beard almost daily to rid them of randomly curled hair is more time than I want to spend on it! Perhaps, now I have more motivation.).
(Corrected version of deleted comment.)
A beard doesn't make you look mean, and I think the effect depends on how it's cut. An untrimmed beard calls to mind a homeless person or Karl Marx. A trimmed goatee is more of a devil look -- or an artist. A well-trimmed full beard can seem intellectual. The beard without a mustache look should have gone to the grave along with Abraham Lincoln. Lord knows what such foolishness will make people think. I'm picturing a folksinger.
I was going to disagree with you about the mean mustache thing. I was going to link to some photos--compare and contrast--of two guys I think look pretty decent with their mustaches, and less good without them: Alex Trebek and Dwight Evans.
But, you know what? When I actually looked at the photos--it turns out you were right! Neither looks extraordinarily mean either with or without, but they do in fact look meaner with their staches as compared to without. Hmmm. I stand corrected.
Take a look: Trebek with, Trebek without.
Dewey (Dwight Evans) with, Dewey without.
I like facial hair on men. My husband is under strict orders to never shave his mustache. He did that once and kissing him felt like kissing some naked thing and it was really freaky.
Honestly... I think that commercials implying to guys that sexy women love a face that's as smooth as a baby butt are mostly just trying to sell razors.
"Kissing some naked thing" -- is that so terrible?
Mr. Bolton's decidedly un-diplomatic dress, from his shoes to his hair, has become his own uniform. It sets him apart. And I think it is deliberate. He _isn't_ your mother's ambassador. That's why this Cox & Forkum" is so brilliant.
He has created a public personna that so many comment about. All of the comments from tight neck of his shirt to the color of his tie seem to whine "He's not a very nice fellow"!
GOOD!
It's about time a guy who thinks like the average American, who dresses like the average American, represents the average American to the world. Like he wears a Blue Suit one size too small...only when someone's kids get hitched.
Cold beer, hot wings
Wranglers, Skoal ring
Get just what you see
Gun rack, ball cap
Don't take no crap
Ain't a pretty boy-toy
I'll rock you steady
Rough and ready, baby
Yup.
Mustaches make men look mean? Clark Gable? Ronald Colman? Errol Flynn?
""Kissing some naked thing" -- is that so terrible?"
Only when you're used to kissing a fuzzy thing. ;-)
I used to have hair below my shoulders. I cut it off 5 years ago, but felt I ought to grow a little on the face to make up for the loss. Now, mean is most certainly not the look I was going for. And I don't think I did.
OK, I cheated. Nobody can look mean with that accessory :)
You know, I always thought Prime Minister John Major was a goofy looking fellow, but until I read this post I did not have the precise words to explain why. It's his gigantic philtrum!
I thought that was called the "Air Intake". You know, for drinking beer out of a bottle...
Dirk
In spite of being part of the over-50 crowd, the growth of my facial hair is as spotty as that of an adolescent. When I have grown mustaches (with beards) in years past, it has left my philtrum exposed. So, would that give me a friendly mustache?
Careful, mcg, that as soon as that beautiful child grows up and your hair begins to thin, you don't begin looking like V.I.
lmeade, heaven forbid! I will indeed reconsider at such time as my daughter no longer covers for my flaws.
"The beard without a mustache look should have gone to the grave along with Abraham Lincoln."
I work with a guy who has a beard without a mustache. I hardly give it any thought now but, when I notice it, it always occurs to me that he looks Amish.
I think I may have experienced less difficulties in trusting Michael Schiavo had he been moustacheless...
Speaking as a man married seven years to a woman who has never seen my philtrum (and never wants to, to judge from her comments when I've mentioned shaving), I'd have to say that you're only half right.
On the one hand, a moustache can suggest that you are mean. Chesterton said, "If military moustaches did not suggest a sword..." which means, of course, that they do suggest a sword.
But the broader context of his remarks should be considered, as it is relevant to this matter. "If military moustaches did not suggest a sword or tusks a tail, then the object would be vast because it would be immeasurable. But the moment you can imagine a guardsman you can imagine a small guardsman. The moment you really see an elephant you can call it 'Tiny.'"
This is the other half of the puzzle. You can be frightened by a moustache or a sword, or you can find them comforting. It depends on whether the object belongs to a barbarian or a guardsman: whether it is a weapon that might harm you, or a weapon that protects you.
One of my son's first phrases was "mean daddy!" And it was true, as far as it went -- he would exclaim it while being tickled or sprayed with a garden hose. But he meant it with both love and joy.
I think my wife feels the same way. They are glad of the moustache, and the spirit that goes with it, because it is on their side.
On reflection, I see I failed to include an important piece of the Chesterton quote: "When one is fond of anything one addresses it by diminutives, even if it is an elephant or a life-guardsman."
Hmmmm...What would make me look like 70's gay porn star *and* lower my IQ 15 points?
I know, a mustache!
You are so right.
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