Porn offers some insight into the magic of Trump’s face. In David Foster Wallace’s report on the Adult Video News Awards in Consider the Lobster, he argues that porn feels mechanical and lifeless because of the performers’ faces, which appear bored but actually show “the self locked away someplace far behind the eyes.” Wallace writes, “Surely this hiddenness is the way a human being who’s giving away the very most private parts of himself preserves some sense of dignity and autonomy—he denies us true expression.” But in the rare moments when "genuine erotic joy" washes over a performer's face, the "effect on the viewer is electric."
You can imagine the typical presidential candidate wants the same thing, a barrier between their true feelings and their Sunday show face. But Donald Trump doesn't seem to want a barrier.... Even as he shows authentic emotion, he's mocking the silliness of the way we elected presidents, as if he's saying to the viewer, "Can you believe how stupid this shit is?"
September 15, 2015
He says he's "very good looking," but that's not quite true and it's not why we love looking at his face.
A surprisingly long article in The New Republic about why we love looking at Donald Trump's face. Excerpt:
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"Don’t anthropomorphize him. Sure he’s got big eyes, but his feelings are not like ours."
-- Leonard (The Big Bang Theory; "The Table Polarization") (cautioning Bernadette not to feel sorry for Sheldon)
The analysis is far to clever to be interesting. But hey, I support the right of writers to earn whatever the market will bear.
Every time I look at his face my thought is, "That man is orange".
Not quite true? How many Pinocchios? Now we can't make jokes or have opinions? Lets see this cunt Elspeth naked and rate her saggy ass.
All y'all lefties need to just shut up awhile. Really, try it. Silence is okay, the world will not end, nor your tongues freeze up, if you do so.
He used to be handsome in that '70s way and the long hair was quite the style of the time. Now with the absurd combover and orange glow it gives the impression of an aging man fighting hard against reality.
Not that this should matter in a president--handsome does not often equal great.
Faces? Gee, I never noticed.
Saturation bombing, hoping, begging something does some damage.
Interesting to try and
See into
His eyes and do a psychology ( soul) analysis. Bush II saw a soul in Putin's eyes.
Trump has a master vocabulary usage and verbal
Targeting that hits the opposition targets like smart bombs.
His defect is near zero empathy. No wonder he cherishes women. He needs them.
The bombast is a marketing tool. Inside he is as cool
As Doctor Spock at war.
Cliff Notes version: Trump has traction because he is comfortable in his own skin. In that way, he is no different than Slick Willie and Ronnie Raygun.
"Even as he shows authentic emotion, he's mocking the silliness of the way we elected presidents, as if he's saying to the viewer, "Can you believe how stupid this shit is?"
Authenticity: if you can fake that . . .
No, I don't think going meta is the key to Trump's con--sorry, the Art of the Deal.
I do enjoy some of the mockery though, come what may.
"Bush II saw a soul in Putin's eye"
True, he said he got a sense of his soul. Didn't say what kind of soul, though.
if you're going to refer to Foster Wallace, then make an 'Infinite Jest' comparison, Johnny Gentle,
He worked his internet porn habit into his writing gig! Nice work!
It seems like if you're going to reference an essay, you should name the essay itself instead of the collection of essays in which it was included (a collection with a separate essay titled Consider the Lobster). That may qualify as a nit.
Narcisco
Nonononononono. David Foster Wallace. Three names. Not two. Please.
Do I have to whip out my Andrew Sullivan "His Face!" quote again?
the Pynchon pretender doesn't deserve it, neither does Mrs, Scott Beauchamp to tell the truth,
"Look at that face!"
no the nausea in the pit of the stomach could rise again,
Consider the Lobster, he argues that porn feels mechanical and lifeless because of the performers’ faces, which appear bored but actually show “the self locked away someplace far behind the eyes.”
Does it feel lifeless? Is this based on his years of studying porn movies to determine the degree of authenticity. Perhaps its the porn he's watching or overwatching of it which made him bored and jaded.
60% of Americans Don't Think Trump is Qualified to be President
This article is a good example of a strange new phenomenon in left wing journalism. They're building up Trump in every way possible. Why does he fascinate us so? What is it about that face? What is the chord he has struck in the minds of the electorate? Why does Trump resonate so with Republicans?
The answer is very simple: because Trump is death for the Republican, Trump is poison for the Republican party's chances in the next election. So they will work very hard to keep the Trump flame burning, even though they (and this is one of the very few things in which I agree with the left) find him repugnant.
Facial politics. Vote for blackface, woman-face, etc. Who does that?
You're watching porn, and you focus on the faces???...then you're doing it wrong!!
Hell, half the time faces are buried in someone's crotch. You end up recognizing performers by their tattoos.
Cute Sunsong.
After electing Obama, the most unqualified President ever, it seems to not matter anymore if someone is "qualified" to be President. We will vote for a wet brick if its got the largest personality.
We elected Obama's bright loving smile. Nobody noticed his dead cold eyes.
Trump has a big personality. He enjoys life. He's not fearful. He is optimistic and playful. He is willing to take risks, and enjoys motivating and leading others.He's also contentious and confrontational. He enjoys debate and conflict and has a strong will to dominate and win. He is pretty much in love with himself above all others, but unlike many in politics he does not pretend otherwise. All of this makes him very engaging, and all these traits are available in his face when he talks (which he loves to do.)
His political views, even the once some people hate, are actually quite mainstream. But his political technique is not. He's willing to put his ideas and beliefs out there. I doubt he spends a lot of time looking at polls before he decides what to say.
None of this means that he would be a good President. But these traits describe a number of people we believe have been outstanding leaders: Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, George Patton, William Buckley, Andrew Jackson, Huey Long, Sam Houston and even Franklin Roosevelt all come to mind. I'm not saying that Trump would be a great national leader. He could be a spectacular failure, but he has many of the traits of successful political leaders. He's not dominating the debate for no reason.
DrSquid said...
This article is a good example of a strange new phenomenon in left wing journalism. They're building up Trump in every way possible. Why does he fascinate us so? What is it about that face? What is the chord he has struck in the minds of the electorate? Why does Trump resonate so with Republicans?
The answer is very simple: because Trump is death for the Republican, Trump is poison for the Republican party's chances in the next election. So they will work very hard to keep the Trump flame burning, even though they (and this is one of the very few things in which I agree with the left) find him repugnant.
9/15/15, 3:50 PM"
Problem for the Democrats is they still have Hillary! Now as you were saying......
The bombast is a marketing tool. Inside he is as cool
As Doctor Spock at war.
I can see the headline now... Famous Baby Doc Puts Down the Stethoscope and Takes Up the Gun
That's who you had in mind, wasn't it, Taditionalguy? The late Benjamin McLean Spock, MD, leading advocate of the instant gratification theory of child rearing and discipline which gave us the 60's youth culture and much that it has entailed?
If Bruce Jenner can adopt a new name, put on a wig and a padded bra, and be called a woman by people with allegedly sound minds, then Donald Trump can say he's very good looking and expect right-thinking people to agree with him without question or demure.
Trump is like Al Czervik, the Rodney Dangerfield character in 'Caddy Shack' and Jeb is Judge Smales.
But Bob, then the real question is: who is Lacey? (Though I preferred Maggie, myself, on the "She (Lacey) would make for a jazzy weekend, but..." principle.)
Sadly there's no Lacey or Maggie in the race.
But which candidate can you picture asking Huma to Loofa her stretch marks?
You can imagine the typical presidential candidate wants the same thing, a barrier between their true feelings and their Sunday show face. But Donald Trump doesn't seem to want a barrier.... Even as he shows authentic emotion, he's mocking the silliness of the way we elected presidents, as if he's saying to the viewer, "Can you believe how stupid this shit is?"
Trump is mocking the process and to the viewer Hillary! is the process. Trump brings in the viewer to laugh at the object of derision and Hillary! derides the electorate. The Left thinks Trump is a joke and he may well turn out to be a joke but if he doesn't quit the joke may very well be on the Left. Can you imagine any other candidate simply revoking every presidential order or regulation issued under previous presidents that he or she didn't agree with? To me, Trump appears to be quite capable of doing just that. Since all executive authority is vested in the president he could do it and would the rule of law. Maybe a move like that would force Congress to write clear and coherent laws but I doubt it. So far as it looks today the election just might be between Trump and Sanders which ought to be sobering for everyone on both ends of the spectrum.
http://completecolorado.com/pagetwo/2015/09/15/rosen-dives-deep-into-trump-debate/
I sent a bunch of emails to Mike saying what I have said here.
We have Lowell Wieckers galore in the national GOP.
Rosen still says things like, and I am not joking here I heard it Monday on-air, the GOP in Washington is "the party of small government."
HA@@@
What a joker.
My critique of him is accurate even though, yes, emotional*: Rosen is just another old Keynesian, saying bullshit about small government to fool the rubes into voting for Big Government Conpassion (and, oh yeah, a lil conservativism too maybe, at least for show, and that is good enough for you imbecile). His response is not just an appeal to authority, which is stupid for an atheist like Rosen to not understand considering he has heard God appealed to and surely considered why that argument doesn't work for him, but indeed it is an appeal to Mike Rosen's authority, built upon years and years of understanding "intracacies" of governing and elections. Appeal to self-authority is what I do when masturbating, not writing or speaking about politics.
*you little jerks who don't understand you emote your way into logically confirming your bias can *(&%^*&^ yourself up the *(&^%&*(&%^ )(^*(&^*(& and the *(^*(56 *&((6,.
Explain the political difference to me between Trump and the (living) Steve Jobs.
Note: I do not know Trump's opinion on the stylus.
I am Laslo.
David Foster Wallace hung himself at 46. The only thing he is the resident expert in is "loser."
I mean if you want to know how to tie a good knot, David Foster Wallace might be your guy. Donald Trump's face...probably not.
Remember in Caddyshack when Rodney Dangerfield bought all the rich people at the auction and made them perform manual labor. That's the feeling I get every time a pundit or Internet know-it-all starts bleating about Trump.
i must be getting better porn than this guy because the participants in mine seem to be having a heck of a good time...much as, i believe, trump is having as well.
Nobody reads the New Republic anymore. It's written by Beta Males for Beta Males.
@Quaestor...Sorry for saying Doctor Spock in a hurry in a public iPhone moment. The Donald is of course a Vulcan called Mr Spock.
As a Vulcan he lives in everyone's head. Especially the Club For. growth guys head who are hiring political assassin teams to guest interviews on Fox News that slime him as an imposter Conservative on Megyn Kelly Hour of free air time. How stupid do they and Murdoch think we are?
Heh - Trump is the Al Czervik at the Bushwood Country Club. Y'all nailed it!
GOC apparently you haven't listened to Mike Rosen much or you spend an inordinate amount of time with Levin. Rosen is as far from a Keynesian as you could possibly get .He just isn't a far right trumpeteer.
Moto
The premise of the article is wrong. We do not love looking at his face. With his flying carpet hair weave we may even positively dislike looking at his face.
@ traditionalguy
Both Spocks seemed plausible to me.
Pardon my French but
what the fuck?
It's like a long French article explaining why we love Jerry Lewis so much.
The expression of Jerry Lewis in this article kinda reminds me of the expression of Trump in the New Republic.
A giant baby.
I can just picture Donald Trump, the giant baby, a King Kong size baby, accidentally wrecking major cities, shitting on things, throwing a temper tantrum, not sure the giant baby with the expressive face should have nukes, really.
I can just picture Donald Trump, the giant baby, a King Kong size baby, accidentally wrecking major cities, shitting on things, throwing a temper tantrum, not sure the giant baby with the expressive face should have nukes, really.
Sounds like a pretty good description of Obama. I am starting to join the burn it all brigade.
When you say "more spending always until death no matter deficits or debt" you are a Keynesian, and when you support those actions, even if saying a bunch of other crap to fool the Williams of the world, you are still a Keynesian, just a lying or stupid one.
My goal is for those of you bankrupting your kids to recognize, and indeed acknowledge, your generational theft. We don't give a damn you can plausibly claim "but Democratics are worse so worship our Keynesian-slow philosophy of never ending increasing debt until the long run kills us and our debt kills you. Thank us, punk."
The greatest spender in world history is John Boehner, not Nancy Pelosi.
With control of congress, the GOP has taken more taxes than any government in the world's history.
Yet some damn rube fools think the other guys are the tax and spend party, maybe because they are too ignorant to separate local/state/federal and are correct about local and state Dems spending even more insane and taxing even more insane than their counterparts in the GOP?
Either way please educate yourselves such that "the party of small government" refers to The Tom Coburn Party at the national level, not the mad spending and taxing GOP.
Ivory Snow cover girl and porn actress Marylin Chambers revolutionized porn movies in the US by being (perhaps) the first porn actress acting as if she enjoyed the sex act on film, (or so I have read in learned articles on the history of porn, which I was reading For Science).
That the author of the linked article sees a possible link between a presidential candidate, even a clown candidate like Trump, with anything related to porn tells us all we need to know about the seriousness of the article, and the predilections of the author (I condemn myself, too, I know).
That the above sentences relate at all to this presidential cycle depresses me greatly.
But I conclude that Trump is perhaps using Marylin Chamber's technique of acting like he is enjoying himself in his campaign, with similar novelty compared to the rest of the field, and thus his popularity is explained.
Also, Lewis CK or PH O'Rourke could write the same article, only better, I think.
It's just a feeling, but my feeling is that that picture on the DrudgeReport running at the time of this comment, of Trump under those giant phallic guns on the battleship may represent peak Trump.
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