Changing A Nation's Image

By:  Joseph Rosenfeld

 

If you ever doubted the importance of image, just consider the young Chinese girl singer who stole millions of hearts during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony. Or, how about the impressions made by Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain during their speeches at the National Conventions. One thing is for sure, they are all reflecting images that say something not just about themselves but about the country and the ideals each of them represents.

One of my clients and I had an interesting conversation while she got her hair cut at Mitri Hair Studio.  We talked about the amazing Olympic Opening Cermonies and about a cute young Chinese girl singer, who wore a red dress with her hair in pigtails during the festivities and how a photo surfaced of another young Chinese girl with buck teeth who was not visible that night.  It turns out the girl with the buck teeth was recorded singing a patriotic song, “Hymn to the Motherland,” but did not appear on camera because her physical appearance did not represent an ideal image of the country, according to a member of the Chinese politburo.  I expressed dismay over the decision to use one girl’s flawless voice and another’s flawless appearance to represent the future of a great nation.

 

My client, who is Chinese and whose parents still live in Beijing, enlightened me.  She explained how Chinese culture supports a team effort.  In fact, after our talk, I came across an interview of Mr. Chen Qigang, the show’s musical director.  He said, “I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke [the girl in the red dress, here pictured at right] and Yang Peiyi [the girl who actually sang, pictured at left].  After all, we have a perfect voice, a perfect image and a perfect show, in our team’s view, all together.”  My client suggested how American culture tends to favor individual accomplishments.  We agreed how both cultures have their merits, yet neither of us thought it was the government’s place to regulate beauty.  The national image of the country was displayed but somehow distorted through the eyes of anyone unaware of such cultural differences.

Educated, confident, and successful without relying upon the political successes of their husbands, both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama each paints a different tableau of themselves. Ultimately, one will represent the United States in vastly different ways as First Lady.  Though their husbands receive the votes and are elected, it is interesting to see how their images will affect how the world perceives our country.

Mrs. McCain caused a lot of brouhaha when she addressed the Republican convention wearing an outfit valued at more than the average price of a home in the United States.  Style experts pegged the value of her attire that evening at a whopping $300,000.  This amounts to only 3/10 of 1 percent of her reported net worth.  McCain’s metallic buttercup Oscar de la Renta shirt dress and Chanel ceramic watch convey a message of maverick elegance.  I suggest this is so because although she looked appropriate for the occasion in monochromatic clothing, the value of the jewelry and the obvious watch design appear independent from her husband’s message of fighting for the average American.  Some people will only argue over whether that dress was just too much with her light blonde mane.  But the more meaningful issue is whether she represented the intended party line.

Michelle Obama’s wardrobe choices have been getting her a lot of positive press over the past months.  The turquoise sheath with a wide v-neck she wore to address the Democrats gave her a look that was neatly tailored and sophisticated with a modern femininity.  She has a very strong physical and vocal presence and the sheath gave her a look of graceful poise.  Mrs. Obama shows her varied tastes by wearing prints, as she did the night her husband officially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, as well as while appearing on TV’s “The View”.  While I do admire her in prints, her choice defied convention for the last night of the Convention.  It certainly signifies how change could come to Washington style.

The team effort image of the Chinese girls put a face to a changing China.  In their case, it was a combination of government intervention and culture to create the desired impression.  Our politics and culture give us the freedom to appear as we are, or even to appear as who we aspire to be.  Hopefully we choose to project ourselves at our best at all times and for all occasions because you never know just who is watching.

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