Posted on 04/04/2003 7:12:29 AM PST by Loyalist
Deception gives life to leaders
Body doubles, altered images date back to ancient times
Julie Smyth
National Post
When Mao Tse-tung swam the Yangtze at the age of 73, observers were amazed at the speed he was travelling.
He was known for swimming the river but the film footage showed him cutting through the water at remarkable pace for a man of his age. Photos from the same day also raised suspicion as they appeared to show a detached head bobbing on the water.
There were enough witnesses to authenticate it was the Chinese leader but there is still debate among historians today about whether the video was altered to make him swim faster or whether the government had frogmen in wetsuits and flippers underneath towing him along.
The art of deception has been widely used to prop up ageing statesmen who want to appear virile and has helped numerous leaders who were ill -- even dead -- give the impression they were still in command.
The Iraqi government's media campaign over the past two weeks has attempted to show Saddam Hussein is alive despite American attacks on his bunkers, government buildings and palaces. Saddam has appeared a number of times on state television delivering speeches to the nation and meeting with senior aides and his two sons, Uday and Qusay. In images shown yesterday of the 65-year-old dictator, he is dressed in military uniform and is smiling and laughing.
Intelligence sources told CNN yesterday the government now believes all of the footage of Saddam was taped before the war. Saddam is also known for using doubles and the U.S. government has only confirmed it was genuinely Saddam in one of his recent appearances.
The use of doubles and altered images dates back to ancient China. When Qin Shihuang, the founding emperor of China, died there was concern that word would leak out to the people, so one of his ministers placed his body in the state carriage and continued to transport him through the streets, according to Chinese historians. When his decomposing body began to smell, the minister arranged to have another carriage of rotting fish placed behind the emperor and told the people their leader had requested the smelly fish.
In 1556, when Humayun, a Mughal emperor in India fell down the stairs in his library and broke his skull, it placed the empire in a very difficult position, with demands that he be seen periodically. In order to allow enough time to crown his child, who was to succeed him, officials placed a double of the emperor in his cloak and hat, placed him at the top of the library and had him wave to the people below.
One of the most famous wartime deceptions involved British General Bernard Montgomery. In the run up to the Allies' invasion of Normandy in 1944, a double of General Montgomery was used to throw off the Germans.
Joseph Stalin and Sir Winston Churchill were also known for using doubles, often for security reasons.
In other cases, images have been altered to create certain impressions, particularly during wartime. When Stalin gave his famous speech about resisting the Nazis after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, he was shown in Red Square delivering his address. It was only later it was discovered he was actually in a studio -- the image had been artificially altered.
When the Germans attacked, Stalin was taken by surprise and disappeared for about six weeks; He had been admitted to a clinic because of a breakdown.
Even after Hitler committed suicide, rumours circulated for many years after the war about what had happened to the Nazi leader.
John Ferris, professor of history at the University of Calgary, said governments have often withheld information about a leader's health. Sir Winston had a stroke, which was kept quiet, and John F. Kennedy was also much sicker than Americans were led to believe.
"The idea of people hiding weakness is surprisingly common. And it is normal when leaders die to spend a period of time where you keep quiet about the death to avoid political problems," he said.
Elizabeth Ewan, a historian in Guelph University's Scottish studies program, said there have been many examples of deception throughout British history. "There have been a number of these things where the leader is killed but nobody knows what has happened to his body, so you don't really know if he is dead or not."
After Owen Glendower, the Braveheart of Welsh history, fought the English in 1411 and lost, he disappeared into the mist and nobody knew if he was alive. The resistance continued because it was thought he was still leading the campaign.
Many of the stories are mythical or elaborated on by Hollywood, such as in the film El Cid. At the end of the movie, Charlton Heston is killed but his body, still in armour, is thrown on to his horse and pushed back into battle, with the desired effect of forcing his enemy to flee. The story bears no resemblance to the famous poem.
Other famous figures have gone to great -- often bizarre -- lengths to ensure there is no mystery surrounding their whereabouts. Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, thought it was a waste to be buried, so when he died he was stuffed and mounted in a glass case to provide inspiration to scholars.
According to F.H. Buckely's The Mortality of Laughter, his body is preserved at University College, London, and brought out once a year, and, in accordance with his wishes, is wheeled from its case to a meeting of the university's Board of Trustees, where it is recorded as "present, but not voting."
© Copyright 2003 National Post
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