Picture Perfect:
Life in the Age of the Photo Op (New Edition)
Kiku Adatto

Paper | 2008 | $22.95 / £15.95
Cloth | 2008 | $66.00 / £45.95
288 pp. | 6 x 9

e-Book | 2008 | $22.95 | ISBN: 978-1-4008-2455-7

Shopping Cart | Reviews | Table of Contents
Introduction [HTML] or [PDF]

We say the camera doesn't lie, but we also know that pictures distort and deceive. In Picture Perfect, Kiku Adatto brilliantly examines the use and abuse of images today. Ranging from family albums to Facebook, political campaigns to popular movies, photo ops to Photoshop, Adatto reveals how the line between the person and the pose, the real and the fake, news and entertainment is increasingly blurred. New technologies make it easier than ever to capture, manipulate, and spread images. But even in the age of the photo op, we still seek authentic pictures and believe in the camera's promise to document, witness, and interpret our lives.

Kiku Adatto is a Scholar in Residence at Harvard University's Humanities Center. Her writings on culture, politics, and the media have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times and the New Republic.

Reviews:

"In this engrossing analysis of modern imagery, Adatto chronicles the rise of America's 'photo-op culture' and the explosion of social networking sites, image-conscious photography and the guerilla war between gaffe-seeking journalists and self-aware politicians. This book is an admirable analysis of the role of the image in modern culture and an eloquent defense of why words still matter."--Publishers Weekly

"[A] lively exploration of our picture-dominated media."--Sally Feldman, Times Higher Education

"Adatto presents an interesting commentary on the presentation and effects of images on the political and social milieu of the US."--L. J. Roselle, Choice

Endorsements:

"Picture Perfect is perfect. The thoroughness and patience and precision of the research dumbfound me! Kiku Adatto has again provided us with a valuable tool for the continuing assessment of our media."--Walter Cronkite

"Tired of being manipulated by politicians and image consultants? Then read Kiku Adatto's brilliant, revealing book. Picture Perfect is pure consumer protection for good citizens."--Larry J. Sabato, author of A More Perfect Constitution

"Images are more important to our lives, both private and public, than ever before. Kiku Adatto's narrative, rich with evocative details, helps us understand how this has happened, and what it means for our future."--Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone

"Kiku Adatto's Picture Perfect is a book every journalist must read if we are to begin to truly understand ourselves and our world--and if we are to avoid the deadly mistake of Othello, who uncritically believed what he saw."--Bill Kovach, Project for Excellence in Journalism

More Endorsements

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments ix
INTRODUCTION: The Age of the Photo Op 1
CHAPTER 1: Picture Perfect 41
CHAPTER 2: Photo-Op Politics 67
CHAPTER 3: Contesting Control of the Picture 106
CHAPTER 4: Exposed Images 141
CHAPTER 5: Mythic Pictures and Movie Heroes 187
CHAPTER 6: The Person and the Pose 243
Notes 263
Index 279

Subject Areas:

• Art and Architecture
• Political Science and International Relations
• Sociology
• American History

Shopping Cart:

For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia
Paper: $22.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-12440-7
Cloth: $66.00 ISBN13: 978-0-691-12439-1

For customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India
Paper: £15.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-12440-7
Cloth: £45.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-12439-1

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File created: 6/4/2009

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