It seems that on a recent trip to Spain, President Obama and the First Lady took time out of their schedule to pose for a photograph with the Prime Minister's family. Apparently the photograph is causing an uproar in Spain, because the PM's teenage daughters are Goth.
Now... I have never heard of Gawker, the website which posted the article. As far as I can tell it is amateurish at best, or with the benefit of the doubt at least a poor translation to proper Spanish. The post accompanying the photo is horribly written if not a bit confusing... However the comments following the article are great, a reflection of real Goths weighing in with heart-felt remarks. For instance, this quote: Their parents seem pretty cool about it...And I love this guy who calls the girls out:
Goths don't smile, he says.
Awesome, dude. Your point is taken. (But apparently Goths DO have giant satellite TV dishes?)
Goths seem to take a lot of pride in their vampirish appearance and I like the fact that in order to be Goth, one must abide by a strict rule regiment. It seems they are always trying to out-Goth each other, and even have websites which not only show off their Gothness, but even lets John Q. Public cast a vote to rate each person's Gothniticity.
When I first saw the photo of the Prime Minister's daughters, I had to look hard to see what was relevant. Essie pointed out to me the slouching figures of the girls and their long black dresses. I could see a dab of heavy make-up and that devilish grin on each of their faces, but as far as Goths go, I can't imagine that they would score very high on Goth or Not. (I'm sure they toned it down a bit for the photo with the American President, possibly at their father's request.) Also I was struck that these girls were 13 and 16, as the article states. At initial glance, I would have taken them for women in their 30's. I guess that's what Gothy make-up will do for ya.
Mom might do pretty good on her own on Is It a Man or Woman?, if in fact that was a website that did exist. She reeks of feminine-macho-masculinity in her black dress and tights and her face resembles Roy Horn, the man-wife of Siegfried Fischbacher of Las Vegas fame. I hope she doesn't get mauled by a tiger. That would be tragic. (I wonder how Goth's react to tiger-maulings... I bet most would think they're cool.)
President Obama meanwhile, looks exactly like the cardboard cut-outs that you see in the novelty shops in downtown Washington.
Despite the terrible writing, I think that the article is trying to say that papa Prime Minister is trying hard to keep his daughters out of the public eye of his country and that he may even be a bit embarrassed of the "lifestyle" his daughters have adopted. The author, Pareene understands the girls' choice to be Goth, and might even be Goth himself as he states, It is a natural part of life, becoming a teenaged goth. I wonder if he also understands that it is a natural part of teenage life to go to school and learn how to write.
Hmmm... Maybe Gawker is hiring.
1 comment:
That article was soooo fruitless, but the picture is awsome even the one of that guy :)
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