The political power of appearance
While reading about Dorian’s life in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ it suddenly hit me that we in our society prizes beauty so highly that attractiveness has become a very valuable commodity. Just like Dorian in the book, many people gain a lot of (sometimes underserved) advantages because of their looks. I am not only talking about people and industries were this is obvious such as modeling or acting but this is a fact not least in politics.
On the September 26, 1960, the first-ever presidential debate aired on television. The debate was held between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon and it changed the world forever. Before the debate Nixon was the favorite to win the election in nearly all the polls but this debate dramatically changed that and enabled Kennedy to become the 35th President of the United States of America. In the televised debate Nixon, pale and underweight from a recent hospitalization, appeared sickly and sweaty, while Kennedy, handsome and calm, appeared to be confident and poised. Kennedy dispelled worries that he might be too callow for the presidency with his appearance and it was his appearance that won him both the debate and the election.
We can really understand the political power of appearance when it was presented that the majority of those who listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon had won while the much larger TV audience clearly thought that Kennedy would make a better president. As Kennedy himself said a few days after the election; "It was the TV more than anything else that turned the tide."
By: Sam Tabari
On the September 26, 1960, the first-ever presidential debate aired on television. The debate was held between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon and it changed the world forever. Before the debate Nixon was the favorite to win the election in nearly all the polls but this debate dramatically changed that and enabled Kennedy to become the 35th President of the United States of America. In the televised debate Nixon, pale and underweight from a recent hospitalization, appeared sickly and sweaty, while Kennedy, handsome and calm, appeared to be confident and poised. Kennedy dispelled worries that he might be too callow for the presidency with his appearance and it was his appearance that won him both the debate and the election.
We can really understand the political power of appearance when it was presented that the majority of those who listened to the debate on radio thought Nixon had won while the much larger TV audience clearly thought that Kennedy would make a better president. As Kennedy himself said a few days after the election; "It was the TV more than anything else that turned the tide."
By: Sam Tabari