The Church and State Propaganda
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The church and state propaganda


Observant media consumers and watchdog groups have documented a strange trend in circulating photographs of our president – the subtle, almost subliminal illusion of a halo, or nimbus emanating from around his head. Upon close investigation, one realizes that these photos have been carefully posed in order to produce the effect. Whether these pictures are the result of cooperation between the White House’s PR office and mass media, or were carefully staged with photographers’ posts positioned relative to the president and background objects in such a way as to maximize the “halo effect” is anyone’s guess. What is certain is that they are intentional.
This is perhaps no more obvious than in the picture of Bush’s profile (attributed to Associated Press, Oct. 13, 2003). In what public address has the presidential seal ever been located to the side of the stage? How did the background turn out solid black and free of detail? Also notice that the depth of field was set just right so that the seal became blurred, appearing rather as a soft golden light.
Perhaps the most disturbing observation is the impeccable similarity these photographs bear to Christian iconography. The two photos juxtaposed above reveal this connection. The image on the right is 17th century Russian Bishop Mitrophan of Vornezh. In case you’re wondering, the small figure in the upper-left corner is Jesus Christ, giving Mitrophan his blessings.
This leads us to the question of why Bush’s PR team has gone to such lengths to produce these iconographic images. First of all, they create a strong appeal to the subconscious. The nimbus is a classical symbol in early Christian art, used to emphasize the sanctity
of saints and other holy people. Its pervasiveness over the past several centuries has caused it to become a powerful symbol, almost like a Jungian archetype. Some columnists have speculated that these “halo effect” photos are designed to appeal to the conservative Christian population by visually suggesting that the wars on terror and in Iraq are heavenly causes. The nimbus has been repeatedly associated with the idea of holy war in Christian art. It appears in several paintings depicting the Crusades as well as in this oft reproduced scene of Saint George slaying a dragon.

As this particularly insidious form of propaganda continues, we can only hope that reporters will begin to make a larger racket. If you discover photographs with the “halo effect” not shown here, please contact the Fairhaven Free Press at FairhavenFreePress@gmail.com.