Image, the

The Image or What Happened to the American Dream was published by Daniel J. Boorstin in 1962. The book diagnosed the formation and development of illusions held by contemporary Americans. What was central to the making of illusions was the notion of “pseudoevents.” A pseudo-event possessed four characteristics.

First, it was a nonspontaneous happening planned, planted, or incited by someone. Second, it was planted primarily for the immediate purpose of being reported or reproduced by the media. Third, its relation to the underlying reality of the situation was ambiguous. Finally, it was intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pseudo-events often overshadowed spontaneous events because they were more dramatic, were easier to disseminate and to make vivid, were more intelligible and more assuring, were more sociable, more conversable, and more convenient to witness; could be repeated at will and their impression reinforced, could be advertised in advance as events worth watching, worth believing, and worth investing; and could spawn other pseudo-events in geometric progression.

Boorstin argued that pseudo-events were prevalent in communication and marketing initiatives. Celebrities, for example, were human pseudo-events and were fabricated by the media to satisfy the illusions of human greatness. The package tour was another example of prefabricated experience full of pseudo-events. Travel agencies devised efficient ways of insulating the tourist from the natives in foreign cultures to ensure the experience was convenient, comfortable, risk-free, and trouble-free. The rise of the Reader's Digest and the motion picture version of novels were typical examples of how pseudo-events overshadowed spontaneous events, the shadow outsold the substance, and second-handedness won over originality. Stars in motion pictures were the celebrities in the entertainment world and best-sellers were the stars in the book world, and both of them were known primarily for being well known more than for any other quality.

Advertising, Boorstin argued, combined both a pseudo-event and a pseudo-ideal. While the pseudoevent was in the world of fact, the image was in the world of value, and it was the pseudo-ideal. Similarly, the image was planned and created to disseminate, to reinforce, to serve a purpose, and to make a certain kind of impression, was believable, concrete, and appealing to the senses, was simpler than the object it represented, and was ambiguous enough to float itself between the imagination and the senses and between expectation and reality. Boorstin traced the passion for pseudo-events and image to contemporary Americans' attempts to shape the environment that shaped them, which converted the American Dream to American illusions.

For decades after its publication, Boorstin's description and anticipation of journalism, advertising, [Page 326]celebrity, and the American Dream have been used to interpret the American culture. Pseudo-events and the creation of image, illusions, and other key concepts of Boorstin's work are frequently used to describe and interpret political events and the behavior of political figures.