Hundreds turn their backs on Hillary Clinton — for iconic group selfie
A photo taken last week by Clinton campaign photographer Barbara Kinney adds to the sentiment that we are all just pawns in a “selfies gone wild” world.
At a campaign stop on Sept. 21 in Orlando, Hillary Clinton visited a room full of about 500 supporters who couldn’t get into the main event, according to Us Weekly.
Of course everyone had their cell phones ready. So Clinton suggested taking a group selfie, Kinney told Time.
Clinton stood on a small riser and made staffers standing next to her move out of the way so each side of the room could get a good photo, Kinney told Mashable.
En masse, the crowd turned away from Clinton.
Apparently my photo of the massive selfie has "gone viral" as someone emailed me tonight. Wow....... https://t.co/u2tKEJr0du
— Barbara Kinney (@barb_kinney) September 26, 2016
It was “one of those moments that just organically comes together,” said Kinney, one of four White House photographers during Bill Clinton’s presidency. “It was pretty amazing to be there and capture it.”
Kinney dubbed the image “selfies gone wild.”
Clinton is used to it.
“It’s turned into this thing,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in January. “It used to be, you know, when I campaigned, not just for my husband, but for other people as well, and even back in the ’08 campaign, you would finish an event and you would shake hands ...
“And so, you can see them try to say, ‘Do I talk to her about, you know, I lost my job and I can’t, I’ve been looking for a long time, and what is she doing to do to help me?’ Or do I say, ‘Can I have a selfie?’ And most people say, ‘Can I have a selfie?’”
Kinney’s photo, which has gone viral, incited some criticism of a generation obsessed with taking photos of itself.
“Does anyone else find this photo kinda sad?” tweeted one person.
Hillary Clinton waves to the 'look at me' selfie generation. pic.twitter.com/DgZhHGLUCn
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) September 26, 2016
This looks like the poster for some dystopian movie about a vapid, ephemeral future. RT @cfhorgan: what a photo. https://t.co/G8aFyIrRRX
— Shannon Proudfoot (@sproudfoot) September 26, 2016
There’s no reason to think that the moment bothered Clinton, who invited the moment.
“When we’re working the crowds and working the lines after Clinton’s speeches people just want to take selfies with her over and over,” Kinney told Mashable.
Clinton will hold a supporter’s cell phone herself to grab just the right shot.
“It’s kind of funny,” Kinney told Mashable.
This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Hundreds turn their backs on Hillary Clinton — for iconic group selfie."