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A review by patrickwreed
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin
4.0
This would likely have been a five star review, had the book remained focused on the first chapter's analysis of pseudo-events, or the recurrent theme of the role the "Graphic Revolution" played on reshaping our language and world-view. That first chapter, and the later analysis of advertising, I would consider essential reading that prefigures a deeper exploration of the same ideas in a vastly different context by Baudrillard and Debord.
Unfortunately, much of Boorstin's work on celebrity, movies and travel culture is more heavily influenced by his own social conservatism than by any of the phenomena he's purporting to explore, and veers dangerously close to snobbery on occasion, while his attacks on language often come across more as giving air to his own pet hates than any useful analysis. The final chapter, in particular, is far too coloured by a peculiarly mid-century American exceptionalism and the misguided view that American values and ideals were something that were both innate and objective, while also unique to the American experience.
Readers aware of Boorstin's prior work - or the facts of his biography - should bear that in mind when approaching this as an objective critique of American visual culture and the news cycle, but with those peccadillos aside it remains an extraordinarily insightful and forward-thinking work that becomes only more useful in understanding how the news cycle operates with every passing year.
Unfortunately, much of Boorstin's work on celebrity, movies and travel culture is more heavily influenced by his own social conservatism than by any of the phenomena he's purporting to explore, and veers dangerously close to snobbery on occasion, while his attacks on language often come across more as giving air to his own pet hates than any useful analysis. The final chapter, in particular, is far too coloured by a peculiarly mid-century American exceptionalism and the misguided view that American values and ideals were something that were both innate and objective, while also unique to the American experience.
Readers aware of Boorstin's prior work - or the facts of his biography - should bear that in mind when approaching this as an objective critique of American visual culture and the news cycle, but with those peccadillos aside it remains an extraordinarily insightful and forward-thinking work that becomes only more useful in understanding how the news cycle operates with every passing year.