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Monday, August 15, 2011

Wall Street personified

There was an article in the NY Post this morning about the divorce battle between John Duffy, the CEO of the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods investment bank, and his wife. The article focused on the gifts Duffy had lavished on his girlfriends. But what struck me most about the article were its pictures of Duffy. His face seemed to embody all of the arrogance, conceit, and piggishness that many associate with Wall Street:







We're not supposed to judge people by something so superficial as appearance, and perhaps the Post chose these pictures knowing how prejudicial they would be. But Duffy's expressions do give a very distinct impression of his personality.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

John,
Thanks for the post,

I can't imagine what his girlfriends saw in him...maybe it was greenbacks. Hate to be so superficial but first impressions do mean something in life. I just really dislike any male that is not faithful to his partner, if you want to screw around then get a divorce first. Otherwise you've lost my respect.

Mad Dog

Paavo said...

"perhaps the Post chose these pictures knowing how prejudicial they would be."

One always must remember how many pictures the newspaper had to choose from. So the pictures usually tell more about the journalists attitude than about how the person photographed usually looks like.

The major Finnish newspapers tend to overdo this. I guess it is just a show of force: You need us more than we need you.

Using grainy poor quality pictures just to get the most unflattering pictures of the hated minister of the interior.

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/rasanen-ministerio-keskustelee-suomen-turvallisuustilanteesta/art-1288403166254.html

Why not just draw horns?

At NY Post they at least understand that effective manipulation of opinion has to be subtle.

John Craig said...

Mad Dog --
You're exactly right about what his girlfriends saw in him: money, period.

I don't judge others on whether they fool around, though. You never know what's going on inside someone else's marriage. What if one of the partners refuses to sleep with the other? What if they're stuck together for financial reasons, or because of children? What if a woman marries a guy who turns out to be a homo and who only married because he wanted the social cover? Does she have the right to fool around? I'd say yes.

John Craig said...

Paavo --
That's a perfect example. You can tell, that woman is actually fairly good-looking, but they tried to capture her with as many lines and shadows on her face as possible.

The NY Times does this all the time, especially in their Sunday Magazine section. You can always tell if they dislike someone if the picture is shot from below, looking straight up into the person's nostrils, with every pore on their skin visible.