November 16, 2007

HDTV and the female candidate.

My son Christopher writes that he watched last night's debate on high definition TV, and:
Hillary Clinton's lipstick looked different in HD. It was kind of weird. Her lipstick looked overly glossy and stuck out, almost a little garish. You can tell it's sort of like stage makeup. When she first came on her lipstick actually popped out in a Rocky Horror-ish way. That was my first impression when she was in close-up. I mean, and it looked good on regular TV but looked way overdone on HD.
He likes Hillary Clinton, by the way.

It seems that there is a problem with doing a woman's makeup so that it works on both regular TV and HDTV.

Actually, I would have thought HDTV would be a bigger problem for the men, because you don't want to think of them as wearing any makeup at all. Remember when we noticed Al Gore's makeup?
In his first debate with George W. Bush, Gore appeared in orange makeup applied thickly to cover a sunburn. He looked awful. Commentators compared him to Lurch from The Addams Family, "Herman Munster doing a bad Ronald Reagan impression," and "a big, orange, waxy, wickless candle." One columnist wrote that "it looked like he melted down orange circus peanuts and then asked Tammy Faye for a 'light' dusting." San Francisco Examiner television critic Tim Goodman landed one of the most quoted blows: "If you'd stuck him in a push-up bra and a sequin dress and had him sing show tunes, he'd have carried San Francisco in a landslide."

The vice president became The Man Who Wears Too Much Makeup. The label has endured as a trope of late-night comedians - "If Al Gore took off half his makeup and gave it to Warren Christopher, they'd both look a lot better," said Jay Leno... - and as color for political journalists. This isn't just fun at the vice president's expense. Commentators treat Gore's pancake problem as if it has deeper significance. It makes him seem bumbling, unmanly, and, most of all, phony.
Poor Al Gore. So it was a sunburn that led to his losing the election? Is that why he's so angry about global warming?

Just kidding, anti-Althousians. Stand clear of the vortex.

The subject is here is: makeup, HDTV, and the possible disparate impact on the female candidate. And Al Gore. You can kick him around a little if you must. About makeup. Or... whatever.

58 comments:

MadisonMan said...

HDTV is a way to coerce people into spending money on a TV that they don't really need. I'll pass.

I wonder what the reaction would be if Hillary! didn't wear lipstick at all.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

I think the bare minerals trend [powder foundation, very light and natural-looking] will help all the candidates, male and female, look better on HDTV. It provides good coverage and minimizes the appearance of pores.

Unknown said...

We've finally reached rock bottom.

Hillary's lipstick in HD.

KCFleming said...

I think the bare minerals trend ...will help
But a heightened sense of human pores, Rocky Horror-ish lipstick, and melted down orange circus peanuts sunburn cover, all viewed in garish close-up, may cure me of television forever.

Immanentize the ex-Raytheon.

Anonymous said...

For those convinced that any discussion of Sen. Clinton's lipstick represents a nadir in trivialities, may I remind them of the supposed watershed of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, which TV viewers felt Nixon lost because of his gaunt appearance and light-grey suit.

Freder Frederson said...

As usual, Ann and her children get down to the really important issues in this campaign.

She's got an opinion on HDTV, but can be bothered to think hard enough about waterboarding to figure out if it is torture or not.

I honestly don't know why I bother.

And you are a constitutional law professor? And your son is in law school? The apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree. Perhaps he should join the Army and fight in the war you are so supportive about if all he can concern himself with is how Hillary's lipstick looks on HDTV.

Freder Frederson said...

may I remind them of the supposed watershed of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, which TV viewers felt Nixon lost because of his gaunt appearance and light-grey suit.

And this is supposed to make us feel better how?

rcocean said...

Good to see you're tossing in a "just kidding" so all the slow-on-the-uptake humorless lefties get it.

If that doesn't work, try "HA!HA!HA!" next.

Der Hahn said...

Freder Frederson said...

And this is supposed to make us feel better how?

By letting us smirk at a pompous twit.

Chris Althouse Cohen said...

Freder Frederson: I'm glad you wanna send me to Iraq, but they don't let guys like me in the army. Also, I think that's a rather extreme punishment for commenting on Hillary Clinton's lipstick.

So you don't think looks have an effect on the campaign? Tell that to John Edwards, who obviously got a $400 haircut and then criticized Hillary's outfit during the actual debate. If they're talking about it during the debate, why can't we do it afterwards online? Speaking of which, did you notice how much rapid blinking John Edwards did during this debate? His eyes were closed more often than they were open!

Laura Reynolds said...

The standard for me has always been watching a Ford/Carter debate in 1976. It was in a college dorm room and of course we were stoned. Both men looked so unnatural and uncomfortable that we easily slipped into laughter at the first image of them positioned at the podiums. Much has been made (and rightfully so) of the SNL take offs of the Gore/Bush debates but we really won't be impressed by what happens in these debates so it comes down to being amused or horrified.

George M. Spencer said...

Ruth Anne--

Krauthammer did a column on that bare minerals trend just a week or two ago.

rcocean said...

"She's got an opinion on HDTV, but can be bothered to think hard enough about waterboarding to figure out if it is torture or not."

Waterbording, of course! That's never been talked about. I even heard Sullivan's interested in the subject, its so complex and cutting edge.

F.F. - maybe you could find a dead horse and beat it some more.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Ann warned:

Stand clear of the vortex".

You crack me up pretty lady.


And how's LUCY today? Nitwit.

George M. Spencer said...

Ruth Anne---

Just kidding.

Here is a sign of the impending apocalypse. Or the election of John Edwards.

Freder Frederson said...

F.F. - maybe you could find a dead horse and beat it some more.

Oh yes, the question of whether our government has committed war crimes and the president violated laws, not to mention outright lied to the American people, is so booooring and has been discussed to death. Let's just forget all about it and move on.

Maybe if we actually got the question answered (and admittedly if our Congress and Press actually had the guts to ask the questions until they got an answer) instead of the non-answers we have accepted until now, people like me would stop beating the "dead horse" as you call it. Because from my perspective, the horse is very much alive.

Also, I think that's a rather extreme punishment for commenting on Hillary Clinton's lipstick.

Punishment? It's not punishment at all. Your mother thinks every drop of blood and every dollar spent over there is worth it. Your mother would be ever so proud of you if you could figure out a way to get over there and help out. If not in the military then as a contractor.

So you don't think looks have an effect on the campaign?

Of course they do. But they do because vapid, clueless and shallow people like you and your mother, instead of worrying about things like the deficit, healthcare, torture, and the mess in Iraq would rather comment on lipstick and haircuts than real issues.

KCFleming said...

We know, Freder, we know.
You weep for the world, and bear its weight on your shoulders.

Thanks for that.

halojones-fan said...

Freder: I'm much more worried about the issue of counterfeit electronics parts. It's getting to the point where factories will simply stamp "TOSHIBA" on the box and sell it as a premium product without even pretending to have documentation for it. It's not quite as important for cheap junk like consumer electronics, but when you're trying to build a geostationary communications satellite that operates at 15 kW and lasts for twenty years, it can be a big deal.

What does this have to do with your argument? Nothing at all! Just like your argument has nothing at all to do with Ann's post.

Larry Sheldon said...

Word elsewhere that the Porn industry sees HD as Very Bad News.

I of course have not first hand information.

No, really. No HDTV in the house.

I don't watch ordinary TV, ferhevensake.

Larry Sheldon said...

And I have always preferred my women au naturale. I was against "packaging" before it became PC to be against it.

halojones-fan said...

It's actually intereresting to see stuff like this, because it's part of a problem that's becoming more common as HDTV becomes more common. Video/film content creators have become used to doing things that only work because of the limited resolution of the media; cheap makeup, shoddy set work, dodgy effects. It's not as easy to get away with that now. Porno producers, in particular, are having trouble concealing all the..."physical imperfections" of their performers.

Or, on a less-skeevy note, this guy compared Star Wars in 1808p HD to a regular DVD:
http://csel.cs.colorado.edu/~pmjohnso/swhighdef/

halojones-fan said...

One of the things it's worth pointing out is that the makeup and such isn't actually intended to make the people look fake. It's an artifact of the process itself. The TV camera has a much smaller range of colors and contrasts than the human eye, and cameras typically need lots of light to take a good picture. If you put lots of light on people they look all washed-out and wierd, and so you apply makeup to bring their skin tones back to the expected range.

It's like sound, in a way. Most of the dialogue you hear in movies is actually recorded after the primary filming; they'll re-dub the voices in later, to cover the environmental noises.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

George: Thanks for the "just kidding." I was ready to Google it...what? Krauthammer wrote about foundation and I missed it??

rhhardin said...

The vice president became The Man Who Wears Too Much Makeup. The label has endured as a trope of late-night comedians

Trope can't be the right word. I wonder what it was.

jeff said...

I have a 57 inch HDTV which is just kick-ass for any sports. However, I just can't bring myself to watch the local news for this very reason.

"Oh yes, the question of whether our government has committed war crimes and the president violated laws, not to mention outright lied to the American people, is so booooring and has been discussed to death."

Actually, yes. We can't convince you that your wrong, and you can't convince us that your right. So we just continue to talk past each other. If that's what floats your boat, fantastic. However, others may just enjoy a conversation about other things. Your demand to be accommodated on what in your view is and is not acceptable to be discussed borders on, dare I say it (I dare, I dare) Fascism.

JohnAnnArbor said...

It seems that there is a problem with doing a woman's makeup so that it works on both regular TV and HDTV.

I read that one test version of Spock's makeup on the original Star Trek looked appropriately greenish-cast (he was supposed to be green-blooded) on color TV, but horrible in black-and-white, so they had to go with a different scheme.

/nerd comment

JohnAnnArbor said...

HDTV is a way to coerce people into spending money on a TV that they don't really need. I'll pass.

You know they're transitioning to digital TV in a few years, and they're already reselling the radio spectrum where normal TV is now. What sucks is that it's not like going from BW to color; BW TVs worked just fine with the color signal. But analog TVs need a converter to work with digital TV signals.

ricpic said...

Laurel & Hardy both wore light pancake makeup.

Wasn't there a great slapstick routine where Margaret Dumont is waxing bombastic when Groucho yells Makeup! and Harpo rushes up and whacks her with this giant talcum powder pillow "applicator"?

Or was that Abbot & Costello?

Anyway, it was great.

Unknown said...

MrBuddwing said..."For those convinced that any discussion of Sen. Clinton's lipstick represents a nadir in trivialities, may I remind them of the supposed watershed of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, which TV viewers felt Nixon lost because of his gaunt appearance and light-grey suit."

I don't think the sweat on Nixon's upper lip helped either.

Of course, that was one of the very first and there certainly was plenty of discussion, etc., but at this point...is Hillary's lipstick in HD really that important?

Then again, among many here...ANYTHING involving either of the Clintons is very, very important.

It's called an obsession.

Unknown said...

Larry said..."Word elsewhere that the Porn industry sees HD as Very Bad News. I of course have not first hand information. No, really. No HDTV in the house."

How's it look on the regular T.V.?

Unknown said...

aj,
Why are you sooooooooo obsessed with little ol' me?

I'm straight and married.

Find someone else to stalk.

Unknown said...

Der Hahn said..."...a pompous twit."

Well, if anyone would know...

reader_iam said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
reader_iam said...

TC: You're coming very close to putting words in my mouth, and specifically words I didn't say. Someone unfamiliar with you who read your latest, and too quickly, might come away with the idea I said something I didn't.

I didn't call FLS a bitch. If I'd wanted to, I would have. I didn't and don't want to, and in fact that's not what I think of FLS. We disagreed. That doesn't make FLS a bitch.

If and when I do want to resort to name-calling, I'll do it myself, thank you.

Unknown said...

reader,
Right on.

Simon said...

Freder Frederson said...
"[T]he question of whether our government has committed war crimes and the president violated laws, not to mention outright lied to the American people, is so booooring and has been discussed to death. Let's just forget all about it and move on."

Gee, finally you have something sensible to add. Too bad it was sarcasm. "Move on" - what a concept.

Unknown said...

Simon,
And you can bet about 70% of America can't wait for Bush to "move on."

Simon said...

Lucy, I don't see any reason to set that figure so low. I'd say it's probably more like 90% at this point. That's not the disagreement between us. The disagreement between us is that you think that means that those 90% or 70% are going to vote for a Democratic candidate, even though that's plainly a false dilemma, since Bush isn't on the ballot and thus no one will have to choose between Bush leaving office or voting Democrat. I think you've got to set your expectations more realistically or you're going to have a seizure if you lose next year.

jeff said...

"Wouldn't it have been interesting if Ann hadn't specified which son made these observations....."

Not really. Almost every parent seems to specify which child they are speaking of when they tell stories about them. Kind of a oddball observation of yours.

Maxine Weiss said...

There are two sons:

One son notices things like the texture of a lady's lipstick, and whether it's the appropriate shade for a certain venue, and such.

The other son doesn't notice things like this, presumably.

The Mother is blase about the whole thing, yet still feels the need to let you all know which son is which.

Classic.

Love,
Maxine

Anonymous said...

All this yelling and screaming about Bush when history may laud him as one of the greatest presidents ever.
And you know why ? Maybe because he didn't waver...and I know that there are things he could do differently; indeed, read my blog and you'll see what I think: jewsyonkersislamiii-tc.blogspot,com
However, our world is going down the crapper for reasons ALL having to do with feminism.

XWL said...

That reminds me of the horror I experienced the first time watching a Dan Rather Presents special on HDNet.

Yikes!

That man shouldn't be in HD. You could see every wrinkle, the red rims of his drooping eyelids, and his bleary bloodshot eyes.

Not a pretty sight.

What was Mark Cuban thinking?

(Barbara Walters has the right idea, I think there's at least 7 layers of gauze on whichever camera is designated for her close ups on the days she shows up on the View)

Maxine Weiss said...

Women who give birth through caesarian are not as emotionally available to their kids, the way women who undergo natural childbirth are.

Trooper York said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

You know after watching the last debate, I have kinda accepted the fact that Hillary would be a strong President. I could see her running our defense, ordering attacks against our enemies. She would destroy anyone that could threaten us. I could see her calling the CIA and saying "Bring me the head of Vanessa Del Rio." As opposed to Bill who you could only imagine saying to the CIA "Get me some head from Vanessa Del Rio."

Anonymous said...

Personally, I find it hilarious that you are so narcissistic and egotistical that you think that us making fun of your pathetic nonsense qualifies for it's own word.

Kinda proves our point, in a way.

dick said...

LOS,

That wasn't very nice of you to respond to aj that way. And after all the times you have offered yourself to almost anyone who disagrees with you. Just a tease, I guess, or someone who doesn't know what he is.

Jim C. said...

Freder Frederson said, "She's got an opinion on HDTV, but can['t] be bothered to think hard enough about waterboarding to figure out if it is torture or not."

Or to rephrase it, "I don't believe it! Ann actually blogs what SHE wants to blog about ON HER OWN BLOG instead of what I want her to blog about! WAAAAAAAAAH!"

Maxine Weiss said, "Just as Marie Osmond feels the need to let you know that the 'adopted' son is the troubled one....Althouse makes sure to let readers know that it was Christopher, not John, who notices ladies lipstick."

"Wouldn't it have been interesting if Ann hadn't specified which son made these observations....."

Nah. You would have said something like, "Wouldn't it have been interesting if Ann had specified which son made these observations? Why is she trying to hide that? Perhaps she's ashamed of him?" Yes, you are that obvious. And boring.

Maxine Weiss said...

Well, it's a little like the two first cousins thing---

You have two first cousins: One is a professional sports star, the other hates sports and isn't shy about expressing his hatred for sports on his MySpace page.

You have to wonder what's up with that.

Althouse claims it's nothing, and two first cousins can be as different as two identical twins---says Althouse.

Either nothing means anything, or everything is symbolic.

Althouse sees meaning in everything, except when it comes to her own family....she'd have you believe.

Colorado Wellington said...

Is Freder Frederson a real Freder or is he just a stand-in to make us laugh and make the host look good? I was never good at spotting such things and I find it harder to sort out with every passing year.

Maxine Weiss said...

I would pay to see the two brothers watch 'Two Girls One Cup'.

If I could just see their reactions....I'd be able to tell you everything, and anything, about them.

Actually I want to see Richard's reaction to 'To Girls One Cup'.

Heck, the whole Althouse gang should gather around the video. Family Night, and we could see their reactions.

Zachary Sire said...

Maxine! Two girls one cup is obscene...I can't believe a lady of your stature knows about it!

On an unrelated note, I remember looking at Christopher's MySpace page a while ago but I don't know how to find it anymore :( Has anyone made note of how extremely attractive he is? I can't remember if he plays for my team or not...but either way, Ann, you have good genes!

Chris Althouse Cohen said...

ZPS: Thank you.

As for Maxine, to quote Hillary Clinton at an earlier debate, "I find it interesting that ['she'] is so obsessed with me."

Amanda - Owner of www.justrightcandles.com said...

We are always looking for ways to advance the technology that we have now. What do you think will come AFTER HDTV? and what will we look like then? Yikes. Maybe we will be able to see into their soul....lol

AugustFalcon said...

ricpic --

Jackie Gleason (sp) had such a routine I think. Or, perhaps Uncle Miltie (Milton Berle) was the one.

Maxine Weiss said...

I'm more obsessed with the extended family like Cliff and Mason, and Chris and Andy, and the cousins.....those cousins.

(What's it like to have cousins?)

Wait a minute....Chris and Andy are cousins, aren't they? They sure look similar.

Maybe that's a deep dark secret.

The last time I linked to Chris and Andy's photos, Ann deleted it.

A taboo subject.

P.S. I'm not obsessed with Dell. Dell doesn't provoke obsession in others, probably has something to do with birth order.

Maxine Weiss said...

I find it fascinating that you're obsessed with my gender, and that you need my gender to be---what you want it to be.

Funny, I would have thought gender would be the last thing obsess-able about me.

I'd have thought my age would provoke lots more speculation and suspicion.

Interesting how gender is far more important than age, around here.

Unknown said...

dick said..."LOS, That wasn't very nice of you to respond to aj that way."

Thanks, Dick...and I do mean "dick."

But, what is it you're trying to say..."dick?"