Not how they are, but how they look. It's about image, baby. About knowing that if something looks wrong, you can fix the picture with a bit of spin.
Real life is complex.
No wonder the surface stuff captivates us. Images of race and gender, victims and villains, overwhelmed everything. Even common sense. Pictures from Elian's saga, real and imagined, are just as vivid. The golden child aided by dolphins, plucked from the hostile sea to taste freedom's sweetness.