Unless Sam has the hands of a 9 yo girl nail polish and all its not his hand around anyone’s neck , actually if you look at his shoulder his arm seems to be by his side . The pic in question is already gaining logical speculation re its validity possibly digitally edited . Also no one seems to know the origin of it , no tags of anyone.
Dear Hands Anon,
I am very sorry for the delay - this is, once more, a quite hectic week in my own country and yes, that directly impacts me, splitting my attention in a bajillion different places at once and scattering my stupid shipper brain. Therefore, it's only fair for me to tell you that I am also sorry for mistaking what obviously was the little girl's hand around her mother's neck for S's hand, in that rather infamous 📸.
The lack of rings on that right hand was obvious and still I have completely missed it. Point taken, and I apologize for my uncharacteristic sloppiness.
But there is another thing that gave me pause, Anon. Just before the Holy Family pics were taken, we logically have another one, way more candid and honest. The troll dutifully posted it, stupidly insisting on the 'matchy-matchy' details that her below average audience loves.
But I saw something completely different, because body language and micro-expressions never lie. So, I will begin by telling you I have seldom seen three people more disconnected than these, even if they seem to pose together:
[Source: I am sorry, I have no idea where the troll found that pic. However, I am using it, because this is almost case study material]
The red line marks the disconnection between S and Madam Mao, in this particular order. Both seem to play along whatever the Playbook of the Day was supposed to be -perhaps even 'matchy-matchy' for the masses' delight - but the one who engages the disconnection is S.
Still, S is clearly in Madam Mao's comfort zone. The bodies seem to be aligned -but not completely, and this is important - and roughly facing each other. His left and her right hands are resting on that motorbike, in what could be misread as mirroring. My green arrow is crossed, though, because something was needed to logically wrap up the visual context and tell an organic story. That something was S's right hand touching Madam Mao. It doesn't, and this is exactly where the pic starts to tell us way more than intended. Through this lens, this is not mirroring - this is two people instinctively anchoring themselves to something (the motorcycle) that just happened to be there. While S 's anchoring to the motorcycle means he unconsciously wants to dominate (his motorbike, his event, the silly narrative he wanted to spin), Madam Mao unconsciously wants to belong/be included in the pic. Yet she somehow fails to achieve it, because anchoring herself to that bike like someone who drowns is not enough to occupy the space she is supposed to, since S is disconnected from her, as we just saw.
S's chin is jutting forward. He is probably asking something or explaining something to Madam Mao. She doesn't look thrilled: her smile is asymmetrical and her eyes are not smiling at all. She is not focused on S, but on the information being conveyed to her. She even looks mildly uncomfortable: her jawline is tense. Conversely, she disconnects herself from S (red line), with a very clear, self hug barrier gesture that is also an instinctive shield between S and the little girl.
Now, as far as body language goes, self hugs are a PITA, because they always reveal the truth. But hey, you don't have to believe me - perhaps these guys would be more credible?
[Source: https://www.scienceofpeople.com/arm-body-language/]
That's a stark contrast to the calm, reassuring, borderline enlightened persona she would like to project on her socials, and otherwise. The smile is polite, but it is a mask. Her eyes are monitoring something and, one more time, the gaze lacks warmth. Her body is even half pivoting away from the conversation, which further seems to suggest defensiveness and/or pressure and/or stress - all three can logically coexist, by the way, in the above context. Even if we knew nothing about these two people, we'd understand the essential: he is asking for something she is not very willing to offer. Whether he tries to look flirty and is overacting it, or he explains something she does not exactly agree with, it's anyone's guess. I do not, nor do I want to have all the clues.
And then we have the little girl. She is completely disconnected from both of them (blue line). S doesn't even seem to register her and the mother does not include the child in her own comfort zone. The little girl's right hand is hovering over the same motorbike saddle: she would like to touch it and anchor herself to it. In other words, she would like to be included or to belong in that pic, too - but she has no access to whatever the two adults are doing. She pouts - this could be either sadness, or curiosity about the motorcycle. I would go for sadness: not because I am a party pooper, but because we know the mother is a self-proclaimed biker, so a motorcycle must be something familiar to her. However, she also knows her mother will leave her to her own devices on unfamiliar grounds and that is no reason for joy.
What happened next is the social ballet that was sold to the masses, namely the Family Guy photoshoot, during which everyone acted as expected. But what if the real dynamics were hiding in plain sight, on a 📸rather easy to overlook, like this one?
