So 'selfie' is the word of 2013 according to Oxford Dictionaries. The news was so exciting that it made the pages of The Telegraph, Independent, Guardian, the BBC, USA Today, CNN, the LA Times and half of the media outlets across the world (maybe more - who knows)
Websites went into overdrive, producing lists of the best 'selfies' of 2013 - all of which featured Kim Kardashian (who she?) posing in front of a mirror (which tells you, incidentally, that a lot of people who put lists on websites are men).
The 'selfie' catches the spirit of the age, or so we are told: self-obsession is the defining feature of Generation Y to the point that people take photos of themselves in front of dying grandparents, next to teachers who are in labour or invading sports pitches, while being tackled by stewards. No, really.
I'm not so sure any of this is actually that exciting, let alone new. In fact, much of the great art of the past falls into the category of the selfie.
Websites went into overdrive, producing lists of the best 'selfies' of 2013 - all of which featured Kim Kardashian (who she?) posing in front of a mirror (which tells you, incidentally, that a lot of people who put lists on websites are men).
The 'selfie' catches the spirit of the age, or so we are told: self-obsession is the defining feature of Generation Y to the point that people take photos of themselves in front of dying grandparents, next to teachers who are in labour or invading sports pitches, while being tackled by stewards. No, really.
I'm not so sure any of this is actually that exciting, let alone new. In fact, much of the great art of the past falls into the category of the selfie.
 good with kids Here, for example, is a statue of the first emperor of Rome, the great Augustus from the Prima Porta. A good looking chap, all biceps, bare feet and breastplates. |  Not tonight, Josephine Or Napoleon, by Ingres, at the peak of his powers: majestic, clasping the symbols of power as if between yet another glorious military expedition |
250 million followers (unfollow at your peril) Or here is Man of the People, Stalin, standing in front of a disparate crowd of blue and white collar workers, labourers and peasants who are assured that 'under the direction of the Great Stalin', the onwards march to Communism will continue
Of course, these are 'selfies' too: no smartphone perhaps, but the intention is all the same: to use an image to create or underline an identity is as old as time.
Say 'Ost!' So when the Prime Minister of Denmark took a 'selfie' with David Cameron and Barack Obama at the memorial to Nelson Mandela this week, she was doing exactly what her peers in the ancient and not so ancient world would have done: seize the moment to assert her importance.
Those are some soft hands And not a bad result: Michelle may not have been too happy (Sam Cam's reaction not known, but the hand gently caressing Cameron's cheek will not have been helpful over dinner when catching up about #teamnigella; good luck with that one, especially after today's rebuke in court)
But what a coup for Denmark, the little finger sticking up into the North Sea. Seating was obviously not by size or importance, nor was it alphabetical (United Kingdom - United States, maybe; but United Kingdom - Denmark - USA ?). After The Killing and Borgen, Denmark's political establishment is like Hansel in Zoolander: so hot right now, though for reasons no one can quite understand.
But what a coup for Denmark, the little finger sticking up into the North Sea. Seating was obviously not by size or importance, nor was it alphabetical (United Kingdom - United States, maybe; but United Kingdom - Denmark - USA ?). After The Killing and Borgen, Denmark's political establishment is like Hansel in Zoolander: so hot right now, though for reasons no one can quite understand.
A First Class selfie But one thing is for sure: the 'selfie' sure ain't new. Just think of that each time you lick the back of the Queen's Head and stick it on an envelope. Her Majesty might not have pressed the click button herself but the principle of presenting a carefully chosen image of yourself for your followers is exactly the same.
So maybe what is really new about the 'selfie' is that it is the ultimate sign of the democratic times we live in, where it turns out we are all looking for ways to immortalise ourselves and to preserve our legacy in history. After all, those statues of Augustus did a lot more for him that Suetonius' description of him having wonky teeth, terrible hair and awful dress sense.
So as we all turn guardian of the marks we leave in history, it is perhaps worth contemplating the words of one of the eminent sages of our times: as Buddy, puts it in The Incredibles, 'Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super....no one is'. And maybe that, in fact, catches the zeitgeist of 2013.
So maybe what is really new about the 'selfie' is that it is the ultimate sign of the democratic times we live in, where it turns out we are all looking for ways to immortalise ourselves and to preserve our legacy in history. After all, those statues of Augustus did a lot more for him that Suetonius' description of him having wonky teeth, terrible hair and awful dress sense.
So as we all turn guardian of the marks we leave in history, it is perhaps worth contemplating the words of one of the eminent sages of our times: as Buddy, puts it in The Incredibles, 'Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super....no one is'. And maybe that, in fact, catches the zeitgeist of 2013.
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