People with their arms crossed in front of things they’re against: a taxonomy of the Star’s favourite visual cliché
People with their arms crossed in front of things they’re against: a taxonomy of the Star’s favourite visual cliché
Two things are inevitable in a big city: constant change, and constant opposition to change.
Local media outlets have a tough time depicting the latter. How do you photograph local residents’ ill will toward the newest sources of perceived aggravation in their neighbourhoods? Some newspaper photographers have mastered an effective visual cliché for use in these situations: a picture of the aggrieved party standing strong, arms crossed, in front of the object of his or her ire (or the vacant locale it’s planned to occupy). No one is better at this bit of inventive visual grammar than our city’s own newspaper of record, the Toronto Star. Observe:
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- 309036
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Birch Cliff<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/03/09/queensgrove_rd_residents_fight_toronto_hydro_to_keep_street_unlit.html" target="_blank">Streetlights</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Residents Debbie and Grant Wilson, who fear streetlights will ruin their street's "unique rural feel"
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- 309024
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Smithfield<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/07/stop_the_stopping_a_big_idea_to_get_rid_of_unwarranted_stop_signs.html" target="_blank">A stop sign</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> “Transportation enthusiast” Alan Fenton
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- 309022
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> None specified<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/01/30/prepare-yourself-for-battle-to-fight-a-ticket-roseman.html" target="_blank">A moving violation</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Local motorist Abraham Salzman
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- 309021
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Moss Park<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> Canada's largest men's shelter, <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/02/20/torontos-bid-to-clean-up-north-george-st-starts-with-derelict-homes.html" target="_blank">Seaton House</a>, and also vacant homes<br /> <strong>By who?</strong> “Julie Harland-Bettany, who has lived on the street since 2002,” and who purchased a townhouse in 2012
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- 309023
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Junction Triangle<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/01/27/junction-resident-outraged-by-blasphemous-slogan-for-lofts.html " target="_blank">Blasphemous condo advertising</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> “Some Junction Triangle residents,” including Daniel Masih, his mother, and 33 petitioners
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- 309025
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Port Credit<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2014/05/11/a_methadone_dispute_and_a_system_in_trouble.html" target="_blank">Landlords</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Tenant Dr. Bijan Pardis, who planned to open a methadone clinic. (His landlords had other ideas.)
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- 309027
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Anywhere Gardiner-adjacent<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/05/28/gardiner_gridlock_hits_the_bottom_line.html" target="_blank">Gardiner Expressway construction</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Sajid Mughal, president of the taxi-drivers' union iTaxiworkers
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- 309026
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Mount Pleasant<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/06/09/will_the_city_buy_this_multimilliondollar_lawn_bowling_club_for_a_park.html" target="_blank">A row of houses</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> "Concerned neighbours" like Derek Tilley, and also city councillor Josh Matlow
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- 309028
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> None specified<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/bigideas/2014/02/21/taxi_driver_is_a_hidden_expert_with_big_traffic_ideas.html" target="_blank">Blocked traffic lanes</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Taxi driver Mohammad Khan
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- 309029
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Lytton Park<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/02/01/karen_stintz_blockades_construction_crew_that_took_down_trees.html" target="_blank">Illegal tree removal</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Former city councillor Karen Stintz (“and others”)
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- 309030
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Kensington Market<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> People <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/07/26/whos_afraid_of_walmart.html" target="_blank">shopping at Walmart</a> instead of his store<br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Local merchant Danny Zimmerman
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- 309032
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Springdale, Brampton<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/04/17/brampton_townhouse_fight_goes_to_council_vote_thursday.html" target="_blank">Townhouses</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> City councillor Vicky Dhillon; the local Punjabi community
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- 309031
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Parkdale<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/06/21/cap_on_nightlife_spots_worries_the_party_crowd.html" target="_blank">A bar-and-restaurant moratorium</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Cara Galloway, communications coordinator for the Toronto website Clubcrawlers
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- 309033
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Kensington Market<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/06/kensington_market_caf_and_candy_shop_faces_the_end_because_of_rent_hike.html" target="_blank">Gentrification</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Local merchant Ossie Pavao
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- 309035
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Melancthon Township<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> A <a href="http://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2011/09/17/chefs_farmers_unite_for_foodstock.html" target="_blank">limestone quarry</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> "Activist chef Michael Stadtländer," (as well as farmers, musicians and "a who’s who of the Toronto restaurant scene")
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- 309034
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Trinity Bellwoods<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> A <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/07/07/battle_over_ossington_ave_condo_among_several_in_city.html" target="_blank">six-storey condo project</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Condo-critiquing husband-and-wife philosophy professors Benj Hellie and Jessica Wilson; actor J.P. Manoux (who was, ironically, recently arrested and charged with voyeurism over accusations that he installed hidden cameras to spy on female tenants in a condo he owns nearby)
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- 309038
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Yonge and Eglinton<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2009/09/28/young_eligible_now_yonge_restless.html " target="_blank">Hypothetical condos</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Resident Aaron Graben
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- 309039
- <strong>Neighbourhood:</strong> Cedarvale<br /> <strong>Thing Opposed:</strong> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/05/02/neighbours_war_over_urban_orchard.html" target="_blank">Anti-orchard neighbours</a><br /> <strong>By who?</strong> Susan Poizner and Sherry Firing, who had planned to plant an orchard in Ben Nobleman Park, but first had to fend off opposition from neighbours who feared the orchard would eliminate “the little space kids have to play on.”
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. No one is better at this bit of inventive visual grammar than our city's own newspaper of record, the Toronto Star. Observe:
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And while we’re here: how do you tell a story that isn’t in click-though slideshow format, TorontoLife.com?
Maybe all those people are rappers.
Wow. This is content.
A pretty clever observation, though I hope the Toronto Star responds by running a slideshow of Toronto Life en suite bathroom photos.
This is how planners fix these kinds of problems…http://plannerspointing.tumblr.com/
Toronto Life doesn’t tell stories anymore. They sell condos and homes in the west end.
The Star is getting smarter. They published a arms-crossed-in-front-of-zoning-sign-they-oppose photo in the paper, but in the online version they omit that photo and ran arms-at-sides instead so you cant screencap them.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/11/oro-medonte-residents-clash-with-boots-and-hearts-wayhome-organizers.html
Ha! Zinger. Thanks.
There’s a new one out – https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/25/midtowners-battle-the-rise-of-the-midrise.html