The Tiger Woods scandal was totally uninteresting to me, until I saw the February cover of Vanity Fair featuring a rarely seen Mr. Woods: shirtless and void of expression.
Tiger Woods - Successful & Scandalous
It struck me because, is he really expressionless in the photo? We tend to think that in the absence of a smile, or frown, expression itself is missing. But this photo has Tiger speaking volumes.
In fact, his face is far from neutral, it’s scowling at us. Shot by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, Tiger doesn’t perform for an audience here. There’s no glassy eyed, glossy smile from the pleasant green of a Southern Californian golf course. Rather, he leers directly at us, confronting our gaze, unashamed. His eyebrows ever so slightly, but certainly shifted down furrowed above his eyes and his face, contorted just enough so that creases on his cheeks accentuate a deep scowl. The predominant shades of blue and grey and his forceful grip on weights in the foreground don’t help. It’s a cold, cold image.
Apparently the photo was shot before the scandal broke and what’s fascinating is had it been published prior to his exploits being made public, it would have spoken of a vastly different man. Tiger Woods would be the unequivocally flawless and justifiably successful, quintessential man. The picture would ooze strength, determination, drive and hard earned triumph. He’d actually look valiant.
Unfortunately for Tiger though, context crafts perception and since this is published post leakage of his misdeeds, I doubt the Vanity Fair cover will trigger sympathy. It will only add to his infamy.
Zainab B. Jeewanjee
Zainab Jeewanjee 