Written by: Beck
I've always hated the expression "
meme" for some reason. I suppose because I've never been entirely sure how to pronounce it, especially without sounding foolish. That, and I'd be much happier if people would just use the original "mimetic".
Regardless, you know the hooded/standing-on-a-box/wired picture from the Abu Ghraib torture photos? Get used to seeing it.
It's not going away any time soon.
Why this image above all the rest? It is far from the most violent, but easily the most graphic. You need less than a second's glance to know exactly what it is. The triangle of the hood silhouettes sharply against the hot pink or chartreuse background of a fake iPod ad. Andy Warhol himself could not have done better. It holds its own on murals meant to be read from far away. It plays well against the Statue of Liberty. It suggests Christ on the cross. And, best yet, the hooded figure in the photograph is on a pedestal. It is already an icon.
(H/T:
Rambling's Journal)
