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Bill Clinton is the embodiment and epitome of American politics in the postmodern, mediated age. Clinton's able marshaling of images, which allowed him to retain popularity and position when faced with compelling obstacles, marks him as the preeminent figure in a fluid and fluctuating era of image-politics. Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality & Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics pays particular attention to the collection of disparate, sometimes connected, often random images that create a site of political meaning we know as "Bill Clinton, former president of the United States." Through analyses of unique image texts - including The Man from Hope, The War Room, Primary Colors, MTV's Biorhythms, and PBS' The American President - Constructing Clinton focuses on the image of Bill Clinton as it was defined by and trapped in the hyperreality so characteristic of contemporary presidential politics.
About the author
The Authors: Shawn J. Parry-Giles is Assistant Professor of Communication, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Women's Studies, and Director of the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership at the University of Maryland. She is the author of
The Rhetorical Presidency, Propaganda, and the Cold War, 1945-1955. Trevor Parry-Giles is Assistant Professor of Communication and Affiliate Faculty Member with the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership at the University of Maryland.
Report
"Just when we thought that there was nothing more that could be said about Bill Clinton, Shawn J. Parry-Giles and Trevor Parry-Giles provide a fresh perspective and new insight on this very complicated former president. Locating their analysis at the convergence of the mediated and the material Clinton, these authors offer a readable and engaging account of hyperreality in the American presidency. Their analysis casts new light on the presidency as an institution embedded in a postmodern mediated political culture. They combine theories from a variety of fields, wielding scholarship from communication, history, and political science with verve and accuracy. The result is a rich, textured, and important contribution for anyone with interests in media, culture, and/or the American presidency." (Mary E. Stuckey, Georgia State University)
"Parry-Giles' hyperreal take on the Clinton presidency is engaging. Bringing together sophisticated theorizing with close visual and textual analysis, it presents Clinton - and, by extension, the modern presidency - as a mass mediated rhetorical construction. Students and not just scholars should find this book most useful." (Herbert W. Simons, Temple University)
