A certain smile
EYEWITNESS
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By Annamari Sipilä in London
There we have it: more evidence, once again, that the British are ultimately just like the Finns.
Neither Finns nor Brits can stomach big smiles.
Finnish attitudes toward smiling in everyday social situations are tighter than in Britain. However, attitudes toward smiling politicians are equally suspicious in both countries.
The latest politician to find himself in trouble because of an excessively broad smile is Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Blair’s smile has been turned into a political weapon by the other side - the Conservative Party.
According to the Conservatives, Blair’s smug smile is a sign that the Prime Minister is "full of himself".
The natural reaction to a smile is that the observer wants to "wipe it off Blair’s face".
British cinemas are now the stage for an opposition campaign focusing on the Prime Minister’s smile.
An 80-second advertisement for the Conservative Party being shown in British cinemas has as its background music the show tune Take that Look off Your Face by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The main character in the spot is Blair, accompanied by his big smile, as seen in news archive clips. At the end an anguished male voice appeals to Britons: "imagine another five years of him".
The Conservatives estimate that by the May 5th election about a million people in Britain will have seen the spot.
Even if the smile campaign does not deprive Blair of his election victory, it might well rid the Prime Minister of the spontaneous ability to smile.
There are already signs that the man in No. 10 may be putting on a more serious face. There is something more serious in Blair’s public appearances.
However, Tony Blair himself is not the first smile victim in the Prime Minister’s family.
His lawyer wife Cherie Blair had already previously been urged to put on a more basic expression, and not only by political opponents.
Going after Cherie Blair on the basis of her own smile is based on two unkind observations.
First, when smiling, Cherie Blair’s mouth takes on a curious angular shape. Critics say that it does not look good in photographs.
Also, calls to "keep her mouth shut" apply to both her smile and to the simple act of talking. Cherie Blair has often been criticised as being too outspoken for a Prime Minister’s wife.
But what is to become of the four children in the Blair household, now that both their mother and father have been declared to have unsuitable smiles?
How will they cope with the social pressure?
The consequences would probably be the same as in families whose lives have been overshadowed by substance abuse or domestic violence.
The first alternative is that the Blair children will completely disown their parents and maintain poker faces the rest of their lives.
Another possible course is that they will begin to resort to smiling just like their parents do, raising the corners of their mouths time and time again with no thought of the pain they are inflicting on themselves and those around them.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 21.4.2005
Eyewitness is a series in which Helsingin Sanomat correspondents abroad write about their experiences in the country where they are stationed.
There we have it: more evidence, once again, that the British are ultimately just like the Finns.
Neither Finns nor Brits can stomach big smiles.
Finnish attitudes toward smiling in everyday social situations are tighter than in Britain. However, attitudes toward smiling politicians are equally suspicious in both countries.
The latest politician to find himself in trouble because of an excessively broad smile is Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Blair’s smile has been turned into a political weapon by the other side - the Conservative Party.
According to the Conservatives, Blair’s smug smile is a sign that the Prime Minister is "full of himself".
The natural reaction to a smile is that the observer wants to "wipe it off Blair’s face".
British cinemas are now the stage for an opposition campaign focusing on the Prime Minister’s smile.
An 80-second advertisement for the Conservative Party being shown in British cinemas has as its background music the show tune Take that Look off Your Face by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The main character in the spot is Blair, accompanied by his big smile, as seen in news archive clips. At the end an anguished male voice appeals to Britons: "imagine another five years of him".
The Conservatives estimate that by the May 5th election about a million people in Britain will have seen the spot.
Even if the smile campaign does not deprive Blair of his election victory, it might well rid the Prime Minister of the spontaneous ability to smile.
There are already signs that the man in No. 10 may be putting on a more serious face. There is something more serious in Blair’s public appearances.
However, Tony Blair himself is not the first smile victim in the Prime Minister’s family.
His lawyer wife Cherie Blair had already previously been urged to put on a more basic expression, and not only by political opponents.
Going after Cherie Blair on the basis of her own smile is based on two unkind observations.
First, when smiling, Cherie Blair’s mouth takes on a curious angular shape. Critics say that it does not look good in photographs.
Also, calls to "keep her mouth shut" apply to both her smile and to the simple act of talking. Cherie Blair has often been criticised as being too outspoken for a Prime Minister’s wife.
But what is to become of the four children in the Blair household, now that both their mother and father have been declared to have unsuitable smiles?
How will they cope with the social pressure?
The consequences would probably be the same as in families whose lives have been overshadowed by substance abuse or domestic violence.
The first alternative is that the Blair children will completely disown their parents and maintain poker faces the rest of their lives.
Another possible course is that they will begin to resort to smiling just like their parents do, raising the corners of their mouths time and time again with no thought of the pain they are inflicting on themselves and those around them.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 21.4.2005
Eyewitness is a series in which Helsingin Sanomat correspondents abroad write about their experiences in the country where they are stationed.
ANNAMARI SIPILÄ / Helsingin Sanomat
annamari.sipila@hs.fi