The World Leaders Photo in Paris fracas & what was not learned

Did you catch the fracas, French for ruckus, about the photo op of world leaders at the Charlie Hebdo solidarity march?

Here is a quick description: the media showed a number of world leaders arm in arm leading the massive solidarity rally in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo murders.

Then another other photo of the world leaders came out, taken from higher up: arm in arm in an otherwise empty looking street.

Ah, just a photo op, decried some.

Others did not mention anything for a week. Then they published a version of the photo from an ultra-conservative Jewish newspaper together with the two versions described above. Surprise, the ultra-conservative paper has no Page 3 Girl. Nor a page 1 lady, nor a Page Any Lady.

Interesting but not as much as the reaction of a German public broadcasting executive. He slammed the "empty street" photo first as misleading, then added that they did lead the march, just way ahead of the crowds because of normal security measures.

Sadly, the discussion stopped there.

What's our point?

Our point is that a picture says more than a thousand words. Anyone who has followed life knows that security is important, no question.

Our beef is with showing or nor showing the "whole" picture, and for two reasons.

One, the photogenic close-ups of leaders and celebrities are too close to PR and commercials shots for comfort. Using images in this manner is so ingrained that you run the risk of being called a wingnut or being accused of having no understanding of art if you bring it up as a concern.

Sure, Copenhagen's Little Mermaid, for example, is a cutie from close up. But she is sitting in the middle of a harbor, so you need to make an effort to get as close as the photographer.
The great pyramids in Egypt with their majestic desert isolation look a bit different on the outskirts of Cairo, a swarming metropolis.
And if you want to sell a magazine with a big report on back pain, yes, that size 0 twenty year old lady looks more of a sell than the worn out 40 year old male who is the primary sufferer.

So, reason one was the false sense of closeness, reason two is from the other perspective.

Does it change you, your view of the world, if you spend most of your waking hours in a cocoon of security under the perpetual impression of danger to your life?

It does for most people, yet it is not easy to understand unless you yourself have lived it.The answer to the question on this is yes. *

Combined, these two facts can be very powerful, so it is a pity to miss out on an opportunity to talk about them.

Which may just make the cynics happy with their it's all a show anyway.

 [Update 3/10/2016] A few days ago, German president Gauck arrived for a state visit in Belgium with his plane accompanied by two (Belgian, that's important) fighter jets. Protocol allows to request such an escort - but what does it say about the requester?