The First Lady’s comic book struggles to find herself
Bizarro Michelle Obama
On the evening of July 18th, 2016, when now First Lady Melania Trump was introduced to the world at the Republican National Convention, she delivered a speech that many have claimed was plagiarized from Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.
Once the gaffe was identified in the media the next day, there was at first a denial from her husband Donald Trump’s campaign team, and then there was an admission of guilt. It wasn’t her fault, some had said. It was the speechwriter.
They asked the public to believe that she was the victim, not the perpetrator of this word crime. This alibi, while protecting her from direct blame for the stumble, also correctly exposed her as a person without a real message of her own.
She wasn’t Michelle Obama. The speech sounded like Michelle Obama. She wanted to inspire like Michelle Obama.
Instead, she did the opposite. She was uninspiring.
The First Lady’s speech, for some reason, reminded me that, in the DC comic book universe, there’s a cube-shaped planet known as the Bizarro World where almost everything is the opposite of what it should normally be on earth.
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Up means down. Black means white. Yes means no.
There is even a Bizarro version of Superman on this planet. He looks like Superman, but he isn’t Superman.
To me, on our own very real planet, Melania Trump was the Bizarro version of Michelle Obama that night in July of 2016.
In the years since then, however, she has developed a completely new superpower. She has developed the ability to take on her favorite attributes of many other popular female icons and make them into her very own Bizarro version.
Bizarro Jackie-O
Did you watch the inauguration on January 20, 2017? There stood Melania Trump in a Ralph Lauren retro powder blue dress and coat, fully channeling the ghost of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Yes, Jackie-O wore a very similar outfit to her husband’s inauguration way back in the 1960s. Mrs. Trump’s mimicry was so complete that she even included the elbow-length light blue gloves.
There were differences, of course, but not enough to fool you into believing her style was her own. She didn’t stop there. As time marches on, the current First Lady continues to take her style cues from the fabulous Jackie-O.
She wants to replicate the grace and beauty of that style icon.
But on that inauguration day, in the moment when the President turned and smiled at Mrs. Trump, and we watched her smile transform into a frown when he wasn’t looking, it became clear that it is all an act.
This is a trademark of Bizarro characters. They appear like the real thing, but there are differences, and if you look closely you will see them clearly.
Bizarro Nancy Reagan
“Me am real Superman” — Bizarro Superman
When the First Lady unveiled the title of her anti-cyberbullying initiative, on May 7th, 2018, we should have all recognized the characteristic Bizarro cadence.
The slogan, “Be Best”, was missing something.
But what was it?
It was the ‘the’, of course. It should have been “Be the Best”. Everyone knows this. I would have even accepted “Be Better”.
“Be Best” makes no sense.
It’s a failed attempt at a catchy slogan. This is a slogan that desperately wants to have the impact of Nancy Reagan‘s popular “Just Say No” rallying cry.
‘Be Best’ at not cyberbullying? Being best at not doing something seems like a weird concept.
To make matters worse, the subject of anti-bullying is something that comes off as disingenuous, given that Trump’s husband is probably the most prolific cyber bully on the planet.
So, in classic Bizarro fashion, when Mrs. Trump advises the world to stop bullying people online, people are reminded that online bullying is acceptable in her family’s version of America.
Bizarro Princess Diana
In the 2 years since the trip, what has been accomplished as a result of her visits? A review of the Be Best website shows that she took a few more trips abroad for the same implicit purpose, but with virtually no real action coming as a result.
If you close one eye, these might remind you of the trips that the late Princess Diana used to take around the world. The difference with the Queen of Hearts’ missions was that they actually led to concrete results.
When Diana visited Africa, for example, after reading about the high number of amputees in Angola, a treaty was later signed by 22 countries agreeing to ban the use of the landmines that had caused these injuries.
Mrs. Trump’s efforts in Africa appear to be nothing more than a photo opportunity. She wanted to look like Princess Diana. She was filmed with children. She was filmed walking near the pyramids.
Those pictures were a hollow reminder of a more iconic leader.
Finally, what does a Bizarro world figure wear when she takes a diplomatic trip to a foreign country to learn about their culture?
Well, fittingly, Bizarro Princess Diana wore a Pith helmet, an insulting symbol of colonial rule across Africa, and one that contradicted the supposed reason for her voyage.
