Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Image

Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (1987) critically examines the transformation of American culture from one grounded in authentic experiences to one dominated by fabricated realities. Boorstin introduces the term “pseudo-events,” defining them as events manufactured solely for the purpose of media coverage, often lacking any actual significance. These include press conferences, advertising campaigns, and publicity stunts, all designed to manipulate public perception rather than convey meaningful truths. I could not help but think of the real meaning of “fake news” as I was reading.

For the life of me, I cannot recall why this book is on my shelf. Many of the books from my PhD are in a particular section, but it is possible this one grew legs and made its way to my “normal” library shelves. It feels like a book I would have read for my PhD.

Key Insights

A key insight Boorstin offers is the artificiality inherent in these pseudo-events. According to Boorstin, the proliferation of these manufactured realities undermines our ability to discern genuine experiences from constructed ones. Thus we do not know what is real or unreal… true or untrue. I find it increasingly difficult to know what is true and not spun or made up.

Boorstin notes the rise of celebrity culture as a direct consequence of pseudo-events. He famously defines a celebrity as “a person who is known for his well-knownness,” highlighting the emptiness of fame detached from achievement. I could not help but think of the Kardashians who are famously famous for being famous. He talked about this phenomenon long before Kim Kardashian’s sex tape was leaked and she became famous. He also talks about how “leaking” is also completely fake.

He also explores the consequences of living in an image-saturated culture. He warns that our obsession with manufactured realities diminishes our capacity for critical thinking and fosters unrealistic expectations. He could not have been more right 4 decades before social media served us everything he warned about on a silver platter. What he described happened and is happening.

Thoughts about God and the Bible

Daniel Boorstin (1914-2004) was Jewish by birth and mentions the Bible and God often in this work. One of the striking sections to me was how the pseudo-events, manufactured notoriety, and need to be famous impacted God. On page 183 he states: “How surprising if men who make their environment and fill experience with whatever they please could not also make their God! God himself becomes a pseudo-event with all the familiar characteristics. He is not spontaneous or self-created. He has been planned or planted primarily for the desirable effects of having him reported and believed in. He is to be viewed like a television show only at our convenience. His power can be measured by how widely he is reported, how often he is spoken about. His relation to underlying reality is ambiguous… He is the Celebrity-Author of the World’s Best Seller.”

Wow.

Our society has dumbed down and distilled God to an image that we have created that we can take out of our own created box when we want, show it around, and then stuff back away until He is needed again. God made the world, all of us, and does not need us to be His PR expert and explain Him away.

Conclusion

This Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian, professor, and author has much to say about our postmodern media-driven age from the modern age of 1961 & 1987 (two editions of the book). Every single item he predicted and described has come true and is all the more true because of the internet and social media.

I recommend reading this book because it is fascinating how right he was and still is.

TMB