Baudrillard and the Media: A Critical Introduction

By William Merrin

Book Overview

'Baudrillard and the Media' is the first in-depth critical study ofJean Baudrillard's media theory. Rejecting the common positioningof Baudrillard within the discipline as a postmodernist it arguesinstead for the necessity of a fuller reading of his ideas andcritical project.





Merrin offers an overview and evaluation of his key arguments andthemes, focusing especially upon the organising principle of hiswork: his theory of symbolic exchange and critique of the semioticand of simulation. Upon this basis the book also resituatesBaudrillard within media theory, developing an original, criticalre-reading of his relationship with McLuhanism and arguing for thesignificance instead of hitherto neglected influences such asBoorstin.


Emphasizing his critical value and contemporary relevance, 'Baudrillard and the Media' also provides the most detailedexploration yet of Baudrillard's theory of the non-event, considering its applicability through case studies of hiscontroversial analyses of the Gulf War, of 9/11 and the Afghan andIraq Wars and of his own appearance in the film The Matrix.Considering also Baudrillard's discussion of cinema, his theory andpersonal practice of photography and his critique of new media, thebook concludes with an evaluation of his place within media andcommunication studies and an argument for his importance for thisfield.


Students and scholars of the media, and media theory in particular, will welcome this clear and comprehensive study.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0745630723
• ISBN13: 9780745630724
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Polity Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.3"