Imagine a Bershon PowerPoint Presentation...

What's Bershon? Oh, you know that look. It's the look you have on your eighth-grade picture.

Sullen. Bored. Ennui.

It's a look that says, "I'm a little too cool to have my picture taken, but I must suffer the indignity for the sake of my parents."


This uniquely adolescent pose exasperates mothers of teenagers everywhere.

"Why couldn't you just smile?" they implore.

Until recently, I did not know there was a name for this expression.

Now I do.

It's called Bershon. I discovered the term when I read Design blogger Michael Bierut's post about Bershon, and witnessed the lovely picture of his wife in a classic Bershon-y (Bershonic?) grimace. I grinned in instant recognition of the classic teen and pre-teen posturing, which heretofore had been nameless to me.

You will recognize Bershon instantly when you see it. And I am much pleased to note that the topic has its own Flickr group, appropriately titled, "I'm so Bershon". It's a joy to flick through these images. So much so, I'm considering using them for the break slides in my next PowerPoint presentation, no matter what the topic.

Note to teenagers and pre-teens everywhere: for your next class photo, suck it up.

Make your mom happy.

Just smile. :)

And 32 years from now, you won't find your grimacing mug on Flickr.

PS to Moms everywhere: how can you use your new found appreciation for Bershon to generate even more Bershon photos from your young? ;0

Labels: fun, photography, PowerPoint Presentation

¶ 5/09/2008 12:12:00 PM