HANDSHAKES AND HUGS IN THE MEDIA

     It's a bit odd that this current virus crisis means we shouldn't have physical contact with each other. At the same time, however, we are urged to come together, working for our mutual survival. 

     In a nutshell, a handshake  or hug nowadays can mean death. Yet, images of touching between people featured in the media usually meant something entirely different. The point is this: touching ( or nearly touching ) represents one of the most iconic symbols in all recorded history ( Michelangelo's "The Creation"). 

     Media hugs are prolific and meaningful, but two examples stand out in this critic's mind, even though it's been years since they appeared on live TV. One is Joe Biden embracing his son, Beau, at a national political event. The close-up and look on Biden's face live in our memories perhaps because of Beau's subsequent death and the political position Biden now holds. A second potent example is a heartfelt hug between Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, during the Democratic National Convention when he was selected as  Clinton's V.P. It was such a powerful gesture that viewers were nearly knocked off their seats. 

     Another dramatic hug was the last scene in the movie, "A Man and a Woman," directed by Claude Lelouch and staring Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The audience was also mesmerized by a  somewhat similar image of  love, this time between two single parents recuperating from their spouses' tragic deaths. 

     Handshakes seem more abundant in the media because of their diverse meanings. For example, the thematic use of hand touching is particularly powerful in  the film "David and Lisa" during the next to the last shot. Keir Dullea ( as a teenager with a morbid fear of touching) and Janet Margolin ( as a young girl who talks in rhyme) finally clasp hands as a sign of their healing. "Over the Top" features another movie where arm wrestling becomes a theme: a sport for working - class Sylvester Stallone to better himself and improve the relationship with his son. In a way, it mirrors the journey of "Rocky" and his rise from rags-to-riches.

     Handshakes in motion pictures continue as examples of "Dap": warm gestures conveying greetings and solidarity initially originating from African American communities. Consider Spike Lee's "Malcolm X", where friendship is enhanced between Denzel Washington and Lee himself, and in "Do the Right Thing", where a more complicated  hand movement is used by Lee again and Giancarlo Esposito. Here, the meaning is more political, showing a long-standing commitment to racial equality. "Dap" is part of other groups' behavior, no matter what the race involved, and is popular on many TV situation comedies like "Friends" and "The Office". In such cases,  the gestures serve to identify the connection between people and their cultural tenets.

     Finally, certain TV handshakes  have become part of history, often between one -time enemies, making a particular event more dramatic and memorable. Remember  the physical contact between Arafat and Rabin ( with President Clinton standing just behind them) and Kim Yong Un with President Trump. The handshake between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Potsdam suggested a subsequent adversary among them, although probably no one realized it at the time. 

     Will touching, such as ones mentioned in this brief media overview, cause us to appreciate the value of  the past  when contact was not off-limits? Let's hope so.