The Image

Daniel Boorstin tackles the idea of America’s prioritization of the image over reality in his book “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America”. In his writing, Boorstin asserts that the Graphic Revolution has created a world of media that focuses on the desired image of things before the reality of them, therefore creating an illusion of ideals.

The idea of pseudo-events is first proposed by Boorstin. This term describes events that are pushed through the media with the purpose of attracting popularity and attention. However, in doing so, the creation of pseudo-events often requires a lack of honesty and real news value, but still gain substantial coverage in the media.

Boorstin covers news and travel in relation to the image in his book. Framing plays a large role in how things are portrayed to the public. In regards to travel, Boorstin elaborates on how locations are advertised differently to tourists in comparison to locals. This is due to the knowledge that these two groups have different expectations of a certain location, and therefore have different images that need to be delivered to them in order for them to find value in the location. Because of this, news and media practice differing images and at times create pseudo events to feed the public their specified ideal experience of the location.

I really appreciate reading Boorstin’s arguments before this trip. I often struggle with being disappointed between the image and the reality of things. So, coming into Paris as a tourist, I have been fed a lot of ideal images that portray Paris as a beautiful city full of love and magic. But, after reading “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America”, I felt more comfortable going to this foreign place without expectation. I feel more capable of letting my own personal experiences define a place, versus what has been told to me through the media. There is no right or wrong experience when traveling — there is only your unique experience that matters.

​​In “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America,” Daniel Boorstin explores the vast political, economic, and social effects of “pseudo-events. This word is used to describe the largely irrelevant events that are broadcasted with the sheer intention of generating publicity.

Boorstin begins the novel by explaining that America is a place plagued by “extravagant expectations” and that these expectations allow people to be more susceptible to pseudo-events. He asserts that these expectations create a reality of illusion that pseudo-events serve to enhance and capitalize on. Boorstin said, “We have become so accustomed to our illusions that we mistake them for reality” (5-6). Additionally, Boorstin believes that a large part of America’s nationalism is a product of other nations not subscribing to the illusions enough. He suggests that many conflicts would be resolvable if Americans retire these illusions. However, rather than working toward regulating and avoiding pseudo-events, the United States Government chooses to participate. 

Reading Boorstin’s argument made me realize how common American news prioritizes irrelevant events. We’ve all been conditioned to believe that celebrity drama is a top priority in the daily mail. Relating that to this trip has made me wonder what news I will consider in Paris as irrelevant news. I’m curious if our cultural differences will make certain French news come off as pseudo-events to me. Through studying media ethics and media literacy, I want to challenge myself to find pieces of what Boorstin is arguing and analyze it into how as an American, I view it that way. All the stories we read and the places we visit can give me a better insight into what is considered pseudo-events in France. 

The Image: A Guide To Pseudo-Events In America by Danile J. Boorstin opens a multitude of questions regarding media consumed by American citizens. While most readers may assume the publications, media, and news coverage presented in their country follows a ‘global standard’ of sorts, Boorstin illustrates the ways in which this is far from the truth. Society no longer strives for the truth, from celebrity interviews to national crises, we now crave sensationalism. This narrative then plays into the preconceived notions people now hold true about most places and experiences. Personally, I can speak about the culture of Paris and more specifically French individuals that I was told time and time again in the months leading up to this program. The notion that all French citizens hold grudges towards Americans that come to visit and actively express their disdain has been far from accurate in my time spent here thus far. This also plays into the concept Boorstin described when discussing travel, how people no longer travel to gain knowledge of a region or appreciate its customs and practices. As we may now assume we have a deeper understanding of a place and its people before we step foot in it due to the intense media representation, the reality of the situation can be vastly different as it is not viewed the same when experienced in person. A main player in the concept of the human pseudo-event was the bombardment of content that Americans experience. Boorstin attributes this to the high volume of information retained by, “Newspapers, magazines, second class mail, books, radio, television, telephone, photograph records – these and other vehicles confront is with thousands of names, people, or fragments of people.” (Boorstin 53). This has proven to be a very effective technique in depreciating the significance of truly remarkable events or people, as there is now seemingly a surplus of both. This overflow of media in all forms not only shapes our initial impressions of things where we would otherwise know nothing but also dictates our experiences when actively traveling. While the media technically holds no responsibility for this perception as consumers are able to take in the information given in their own way, I do believe that the media has to take full responsibility for playing into stereotypes that often plague their work. 

The book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, by Daniel J. Boorstien describes what can be called pseudo events. Pseudo events refers to fake or fabricated events that are told or experienced in a public light or broadcasted to a large audience. Pseudo events are typically planned and well thought out, they are not natural or an accurate representation of real life. Boorstien argues that Americans are living in a false reality and they do not know what “real” news or media is. In addition, he alludes to the fact that Americans might be more focused on pseudo events than their actual reality. Boorstien discusses Americans and their desire to travel abroad. He explains that the travel experience has been completely transformed. By this, he means that travelers fill their so-called experience with pseudo events. People become more focused on how their experience should be, rather than how their experience truly is. This portion of the book specifically stood out to me because I feel as though this really applies to me and my experience with studying and traveling abroad. In regards to the media side of learning in Paris, I think reading and engaging in everything is crucial. This is how you grow and learn in new places. Though being critical and not immediately believing everything you read is the key to avoiding false media. In regards to the personal side of studying abroad, it is common to believe that your trip should look or be a certain way. This takes away the authenticity of the experience. It is really important to me that I have an experience that fulfills me, not an experience that is appealing to others. 

In The Image: A Guide to Pseudo Events in America, Daniel Boorstin argues that Americans falsely perceive what news actually is. Boorstin argues that Americans have “extravagant expectations” when consuming their news. They demand entertainment from the media, looking for crazy or unbelievable events and stories. In reality, essential and entertaining news stories do not occur as frequently and are certainly not predictable. Boorstin proposes that news corporations choose to “fill the gap” when there is a drought of news stories at any given time. These pseudo-events are designed to be dramatic, increasing the interest of the general public. They often generate iconic images and large crowds and include speeches or advertisements covering issues with little value in terms of importance. 

“We fill our lives with not experience, but the images of experience.” (193-194) The concern is that we are beginning to be content with just observing these events while not actually experiencing them ourselves. Boorstin notes the residual affect this has on travel and tourism. “There is no better illustration of our newly exaggerated expectations than our changed attitude toward travel.” (67) Travel has become less about the experience of immersing oneself in a different culture and become more about the image created around the experience, and what it looks like from an outside perspective. 

There are so many aspects of Paris that have been over-romanticized and photographed over the years, that the priorities of most travelers have been shifted. Instead of living in the moment and taking in what is around us, we are focused on taking thousands of pictures to perfectly capture the moment, joining the millions of other tourists who have done the same. Boorstin’s description of how travel has changed describes perfectly the purpose of our program this summer. I am eager to overcome the extravagant expectations put on not only Paris, but all travel, and experience everything through my own lens.

Daniel Boorstin’s book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America explores illusions in American media, society, and politics, and how these illusions are simultaneously an effect of and affected by extravagant expectations. He argues that contrived, publicity-based “pseudo-events” satiate audiences’ extravagant expectations, but create “a world where fantasy is more real than reality, where the image has more dignity than its original.” (37). America’s “Graphic Revolution” instigated pseudo-events, Boorstin argues, and due to competing media, “News gathering turned into news making.” (14). He claims that extravagant expectations have bred a partiality for illusions that plague American society, particularly American tourism. Boorstin argues that travelers once sought authentic experiences but increased expectations made travel “diluted, contrived, [and] prefabricated,” as the American tourist “has come to expect both more strangeness and more familiarity than the world naturally offers.” (79). He claims that the tourist “demand[s] that the whole world be made a stage for pseudo-events” (80), and it has, with tourist attractions. Boorstin’s analysis articulates thoughts and feelings I’ve experienced in my travels. These perspectives make me crave a unique, authentic experience in Paris, and I’m thankful we will focus on this. I look forward to an in-depth analysis of popular tourist attractions throughout France with an emphasis on history and media depiction. The Eiffel Tower is more than a backdrop for the perfect Instagram post but is a historical monument that was long considered a scar on the face of Paris. Traveling to Paris with this program will allow me to view our experiences through a lens of media literacy and ethics, hopefully destroying exaggerated expectations in the process. Boorstin’s arguments led me to believe that Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world, is full of pseudo-event tourist attractions. While this may be true, the Eiffel Tower is not inherently a stage to satisfy exaggerated expectations. It just needs to be seen through the right lens.

A pseudo-event, is an event conducted solely for the purpose of media publicity. Boorstin argues that pseudo-events give Americans a false reality of actual news. Idolization of celebrities and politicians, who people out of the public eye have no real connection to or full understanding about the truth of their lives from behind the curtain, and manufactured current events in society have overcome actuality.  His argument also suggests that people are quite content in allowing themselves to be seduced by these fantasies, as born by the human folly of always desiring more than what is accessible to the average individual. He argues that pseudo-events have caused Americans to demand unrealistic expectations from the entire world, which has affected the real meaning behind travel and relationships with other people. After taking Boorstin’s arguments into account I want to explore and learn about Paris in a genuine way. Of course I will end up at many tourist attractions but I want to dive deeper and explore smaller spots of Paris that aren’t overly advertised. I think by doing that I will create an experience that truly teaches me the life of another country. When I think of Paris, I think of glamor and couture. Based on movies and the media the French to me seem aggressive, intimidating and unwelcoming. I’m interested to see my personal experience with meeting the French and seeing the reality of how they live their lives outside of the heart of the city. My goal is to create a friendship with someone who is french. Our focus on media and ethics will teach me to realize the reality of the media and pseudo events and teach me to incorporate that into my future advertising career. 

Daniel Boorstin’s book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America argues that humans have created a world where our media fantasies are more real than reality. Image-based media lowers intentionality of principles and ideals, but more about appearances. He describes pseudo-events as, “the news they make happen, the events they create, are somehow not real. There remains a tantalizing difference between man-made and God-made events” (pg. 11). A pseudo-event has four qualities. First, that the events are not spontaneous. These events are pre-planned. Second, these events occur with the intention of being reported or reproduced. Third, the relation to the underlying reality of the situation is ambiguous. This considers whether the event really happened and what the motives were. Fourth, the events are usually intended to be self-fulfilling.

Boorstin argues that the pseudo-events are in higher demand than actual news events for several reasons. First, pseudo-events are often planned to be more dramatic than spontaneous events. Pseudo-events are also easier to spread, because media is often release-ready before the event even occurs, and the events can be easily repeated, like an anniversary. It is also more entertaining for the audience, which media sources will lean into to maintain a consumer base.

Boorstin also uses his ideas to demonstrate how traveling culture has shifted over time. Traveling used to be a difficult but fun task to experience cultural discomfort and educate oneself on society. Now, with better and faster ways to travel, humans expect a feeling of familiarity, diluting the experience of being abroad. Similarly, more of the travel experience is about posting online, and how the experience looks through the lens of social media.

When considering our time abroad, I think it is important to consider the shift in our cultural shift of pseudo-events that blur reality of what Paris really is. I plan to look at Paris with a critical eye, considering what Boorstin has taught us. I also want to think deeper about my intentions of traveling, using Boorstin’s examples.

Daniel Boorstin’s book The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America explores how certain images are created and perceived by Americans. Boorstin describes where pseudo-events stemmed from, and how these fabricated events have created a false reality for decades. Pseudo-events have developed unrealistic expectations of the world around us, and Boorstin believes that they are designed to fool the public into thinking they know real news. 

One of the main concepts Boorstin explores is how the media develops our unrealistic expectations of the world around us. Pseudo-events are classified as an event that is arranged for the publicity that they will generate. They have allowed for the hard news like science and politics to blur together with soft news like gossip and entertainment. Boorstin explains how pseudo-events have allowed for people’s images to be calculated.

Boorstin describes how pseudo-events have impacted the travel experience. Traveling used to be for experiences that were unfamiliar to people and to see places they didn’t know much about. Through the digital age, people now travel to see the places that they have already seen images of online. What was previously seen as nearly impossible and rare is now casually achieved by people every day in a matter of hours. Tourist attractions act as a pseudo-event because none of them are real, but rather an image that was designed to satisfy the customer.

Boorstin’s argument allowed me to see our trip from a different perspective. Coming into this month, I had ideas in my head about what I thought the city and our time here would be like. But after hearing Boorstin’s ideology about the media placing certain expectations in our head, I stopped to think about where my visions were coming from. All I really know about Paris is from seeing things on social media. I don’t know much about the history of the city, but I could tell you a lot about the aesthetics. I want to make sure I spend time over the next month really getting to know this city, beyond what meets the eye.