Image Control: The Visual Rhetoric of President Obama

ABSTRACT

President Barack Obama was elected upon a wave of change he described as “hope.” On the front of image control, the Obama administration has offered little hope in providing greater access to information compared to previous administrations, exemplified by the exclusion of photojournalists from a number of events. Using Althusser's Ideological State Apparatus and visual rhetoric, this analysis examines the process of image control and interprets official photographs from these events to argue against such practices. Findings suggest that photographer exclusion altered media rituals, allowed through White House power to change its relationship with the press and communicate directly with the public through new media channels. Image control seen in analyzed photographs produced mundane perspectives and presidential legitimacy conveyed in symbols and meanings that reinforce norms, and potentially lessen impact of race. Implications for Obama's legacy and future White House practices are discussed.

KEYTERMS:

• new media communications
• race
• rhetoric
• image
• politics

Notes

1. A copy of the letter can be found here: http://asne.org/blog_home.asp?Display=1649.

2. See http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/behind-the-scenes-president-obama-gallery-1.1232456?pmSlide=1.1232433; http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/9095096213/; http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/8735932090/