"Over the past week, as the United States has pressed its military campaign in the Middle East, the face of defense secretary Pete Hegseth has appeared on screen after screen delivering the rhetoric of the warrior-patriarch. It is a face already known for other performances: posing in the gym alongside Robert F Kennedy Jr for the Department of War YouTube channel; lecturing the military about fat generals; hosting a weekend show on Fox News."
"Trump and his cabinet are performing militaristic power at the precise moment when the white male face has become its own theatre of authority. Other icons of the Maga (Make America Great Again) movement, like Elon Musk, have also had public glow ups. Even JD Vance politically rebranded with a beard during his 2022 Senate bid to emphasise his blue-collar ruggedness."
"Men's faces are under scrutiny as never before, in positions of cultural as well as political power: on red carpets, in tabloid closeups, across social media feeds, and in movies, TV shows and adverts. Their features are pored over, speculated about and dissected. Has Bradley Cooper had fillers? Does Brad Pitt have a new jawline? Is that really Jim Carrey?"
Political and cultural leaders, particularly within the MAGA movement, strategically present themselves through militaristic imagery and facial performance to project power and authority. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth exemplifies this through his warrior-patriarch presentation across media platforms, while Donald Trump and other figures like Elon Musk cultivate strongman aesthetics. JD Vance deliberately rebranded with a beard to emphasize blue-collar ruggedness. Simultaneously, men's faces have become subjects of intense public scrutiny and speculation about cosmetic procedures, a phenomenon historically directed at women. This represents a significant cultural shift where male appearance and facial features are dissected across social media, entertainment, and political discourse with unprecedented attention.
#political-performance #male-appearance-and-scrutiny #maga-movement #militaristic-imagery #celebrity-culture
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]