Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-making in Postmodern Politics

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.