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By Siddarth Puri
Daily Bruin Reporter
Not only worth a thousand words, pictures have the ability to
influence a person’s view on a certain event.
The media, especially, capitalizes on molding the public’s
view on events by publishing photographs demonstrating their
perspectives. Author Bill Overton explores these ideas on how the
media influences and functions in a global perspective in his new
coffee-table book, “The Media: Shaping the Image of a
People.”
Based on 25 years of studying, researching and developing
various ideas of 19th century media, Overton’s book aims to
show how people were illustrated through the media’s lens.
The book, researched with the help of UCLA historians and
researchers, will return to its roots and make its debut at the
L.A. Times Festival of Books on campus this Saturday.
“The idea for this book started out with an obsession
““ I became fascinated in the idea of how the media perceived
ethnic groups,” Overton said during a phone interview.
“I had no clue how people were presented until I began
researching and realizing the power of the media.”
Throughout the years it took to compile the book, Overton
visited numerous antique shops, attempting to obtain different
media perspectives on ethnic groups in the 19th century. Overton
demonstrates how powerful the media’s construction of a
person’s image is, by portraying people who were both loved
and hated by the media.
“I put images of people who were bigger than life, who
made contributions to a group of people,” Overton said.
“Whether they were loved or hated, the thing that excites me
about them is that they affected a group of people and influenced a
school of thinking.”
The book is organized in the classic “coffee-table”
style with quotes and related text on one page contrasting with
photos on the other.
Journeying through the 19th century and showing the evolution of
how ethnic groups have been portrayed by the media, the book
focuses on how the media projects images and perpetuates or
obliterates stereotypes.
Hoping to reach numerous people and show the differences in
everyone, Overton wants the book to reach out and embrace people
all over the world. This could improve social conditions and lead
to an understanding of different cultures and societies.
“It’s so important to realize that the media
constructs an image for the public to increase their readership,
without trying to educate the masses,” Overton said.
“I’m trying to entertain people, while also take them
on an emotional roller coaster to show them the power of the
media.”
Many pages include text from recent leaders such as Martin
Luther King Jr. and Bill Clinton, as well as timeless figures like
Shakespeare and Voltaire. By combining quotes that play off the
corresponding pictures, the book attempts to reach the audience in
numerous ways.Â
Many pictures in the book are taken from Harper’s Magazine
and recall scenes from the post-Emancipation era, showing the
trials and tribulations of the African-American community.
Additional pictures focus on the strife of other communities in the
U.S. including the Irish and Chinese.
Overton also incorporated modern sections featuring photos of
Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan and Elizabeth Taylor, among
others.
“The book aims to try to capture the essence of
perspectives ““ for individuals who want to take their mind on
a journey to analyze issues from politics to violence to
philosophy,” Overton said. “I want to show people the
amazing power the media has on us through the power of the camera,
the power of the paintbrush and the power of the pen.”