Pixelated political pulchitrude

20 Jan, 2008 by Ron Coleman

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A mailer from a congressional candidate’s campaign contains a photo of his head attached to an image of a different body that makes him look thinner.

The photo is presented as a true image of Dean Hrbacek, a Republican former mayor of Sugar Land. In reality, it is a computerized composite of Hrbacek’s face and someone else’s slimmer figure, in suit and tie, from neck to knee.

Yes, it is dishonest, especially in a society where we not only prefer to have pretty people around us than un-pretty ones (has there ever been a different kind of society?) but one where we make pretty firm affirmative moral judgments about people based on their weight.

Is it more dishonest than wearing a hairpiece? I’d say so, yes. The hairpiece, like any cosmetic appliance, changes how you really look. So does getting a tummy tuck; if Hrbacek had done that, he’d be a slimmer guy. But playing with pictures is a tad more of an acute angle on that slippery slope.

Cross-posted, along with completely self-indulgent additional material on this topic, at Likelihood of Success.