The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.83 (948 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B0082XLP7O |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 382 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-06-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
First published in 1962, this wonderfully provocative book introduced the notion of “pseudo-events”—events such as press conferences and presidential debates, which are manufactured solely in order to be reported—and the contemporary definition of celebrity as “a person who is known for his well-knownness.” Since then Daniel J. Boorstin’s prophetic vision of an America inundated by its own illusions has become an essential resource for any reader who wants to distinguish the manifold deceptions of our culture from its few enduring truths.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Is it the information age we live inor, the age of contrivance? If much of what passes as news today strikes you as contrived, then this likely is the book for you. Although it was first published in 1962, it remains most relevant today as Boorstin's revelations are still at play half a century after he brought them to our attention, even after the newspaper industry has largely become outdated, as TV news has fallen by the wayside, and even more so as digital media flood every cranny on Spaceship Earth."In the twentieth centurywe expect the papers to be full of news," Boorstin notes early on in the text. And, according to Boorstin, therein lies the root of the media's evil: i. Nathan Vos said This book is like the enlightenment tree that leads to frustration and anger instead of Nirvana. The kind of book that makes you think, "Wow, maybe ignorance is bliss." It's main focus is on psuedo-events, things that didn't actually spontaneously happen but are made to look like they do. Anyone remember, Mission Accomplished? Jet flying in, people in choreographed colors, but made to look like just another day (not an example in the book but a more recent example) Example from the book, The business's This book is like the enlightenment tree that leads to frustration and anger instead of Nirvana The kind of book that makes you think, "Wow, maybe ignorance is bliss." It's main focus is on psuedo-events, things that didn't actually spontaneously happen but are made to look like they do. Anyone remember, Mission Accomplished? Jet flying in, people in choreographed colors, but made to look like just another day (not an example in the book but a more recent example) Example from the book, The business's 30th anniversary sale! Why is a 30th anniversary so important? Well, because we said it was (now buy things at the event, we made up and gave importance to!) You read this book and look at things that are so co. 0th anniversary sale! Why is a This book is like the enlightenment tree that leads to frustration and anger instead of Nirvana The kind of book that makes you think, "Wow, maybe ignorance is bliss." It's main focus is on psuedo-events, things that didn't actually spontaneously happen but are made to look like they do. Anyone remember, Mission Accomplished? Jet flying in, people in choreographed colors, but made to look like just another day (not an example in the book but a more recent example) Example from the book, The business's 30th anniversary sale! Why is a 30th anniversary so important? Well, because we said it was (now buy things at the event, we made up and gave importance to!) You read this book and look at things that are so co. 0th anniversary so important? Well, because we said it was (now buy things at the event, we made up and gave importance to!) You read this book and look at things that are so co. Eye-Opening Insight into American Culture This was one of the most influential books I've ever read. It changed the way I see our world. I keep extra copies of this book because I think everyone should read it so I often give them away to anyone that's interested in the subject. Boorstin's thoughts about the state of our culture and the historical influences that have led here are insightful and even, in a way, prophetic. This was published in 1961--decades before the dawn of the Internet age and in fact before ARPANET had even been conceived. Everything he discussed has only been shown to be more accurate and insightful since then as the Internet has exp
Boorstin's The Image“A very informative and entertaining and chastising book.” —Harper’s “A book that everyone in America should read every few years. Praise for Daniel J. Stunning in its prescience, it explains virtually every aspect of our mass media's evolution and seductiveness.” —Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Visit From the Goon Squad “An engrossing book—sensitive, thoughtful, damning, dead on target and in most respects unanswerable.” —Scientific American “ExcellentIt is the book to end all books about ‘The American Image’—what it is, who projects it, wha