If you know me, then you know that I do not like to be a reactionary. By that, I mean I do not like to be like the people who get all “up-in-arms,” “outraged,” or “righteously indignant” over some real or imagined injustice before I have all of the information required to have an intelligent view on the matter.
Funny thing is, it seems like some of those same people, sometimes, don’t even change their tone when their original outrage is shown to be unmerited… “well,” they huff and puff, “still – it’s the principle!” Yeah, the principle is great except for the fact that your whole premise just fell apart… so back off a bit, okay? Catch me next time.
When I saw Roger Ebert’s blog post “Thank You For Smoking” about the U.S. Postal Service’s Bette Davis postage stamp, my own initial reaction was “Here we go again!”It seems as if the postal service has a stamp of Bette Davis… but do notice anything unusual?
Notice anything ... missing?
When I saw this, a little fire self-ignited under my collar: “How can political correctness have gone so nutso that we are so paranoid about cigarettes that we would airbrush one icon of an era out of the hand of another icon of an era?”
Did the fear of the noisy do-gooder minority result in such a transparent effort to “sanitize” the photo?
How stupid do they think we are? It’s so obvious… right?
I’ve seen this picture before, and I knew when I saw that photo that the cigarette had been airbrushed out — and poorly, at that!
It jumped out at me. You’ve seen it too, right?
But that’s actually the funny part.
You see, it’s not quite like that.
You haven’t seen this picture before. There was no cigarette. There was no picture.
Srsly. You don’t even have to “watch the watch.” No hypnotist needed. I’ll explain.
I am naturally curious – suspicious, some would say – and as I’ve mentioned before, I try to be certain I have all of the information. Admittedly, my emotions got the best of me. In fact, as you can probably conclude from what I’ve written so far, this post was actually going to be called “Political Correctness Run Amok.”
But before posting, I did some research.
It’s always better to keep your mouth shut and look stupid, rather than to open it and remove all doubt.
I was curious to find the actual photo. It turned out to be a bit of a tricky search... but I finally – I think – have it in custody.
The closest photo appears to be this one.Hmph. No ciggie.
In fact, if you look at the photo above, it becomes more obvious that her hand is supposed to be holding her lapel.
That’s it?
Yes, apparently.
The fact that the postage stamp looks like a poorly-modified “sanitized for your protection” photo is only an unfortunate — and comical — coincidence.
As I was saying, there was no photo. That’s why you haven’t seen it. If you think you have, there’s the lesson in psychology for you... sometimes we trust ourselves and our memory even when that trust is not merited.
The portrait on the postage stamp is actually a painting that was made specifically for the stamp. It’s essentially a fictitious portrait for which Bette Davis never actually posed. Not a problem. But also not a photo that you’ve seen. Or that I’ve seen. We do not remember it. If we think we do, our memory is deceiving us.
“Film diva Bette Davis becomes the 14th inductee into the Legends of Hollywood series on the 100th anniversary of the year of her birth. A consummate actress with a magnetic screen presence, Davis (1908-1989) played a wide variety of powerful and complex roles during her six-decade career. Her riveting performances, acclaimed by critics and fans alike, resulted in 10 Academy Award nominations for best actress; she won twice for her starring roles in Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938). Artist Michael Deas of Brooklyn Heights, NY, based his painting for the stamp on a black-and-white still of Davis made during the filming of All About Eve (1950). The selvage, or margin, photograph is a black-and-white still from Jezebel. Deas worked under the direction of Richard Scheaff of Scottsdale, AZ.”
This YouTube video shows Margo’s “monologue” from the movie All About Eve.
For a good time, check these highly whimsical alternative renderings of the portrait.
And back off a little the next time you think you can trust your own memory.
kthxbye. :)
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