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Mirzoff, Nicholas. An Introduction to Visual Culture. New York: Routledge, 1999.

In An Introduction to Visual Culture Mirzoff delves into all aspects of visual culture including cinema, television, artwork, posters, advertisements, etc. The work discusses how these elements affect the lives of the people in whose society in which they occur. The work begins with a presentation of various interpretations of visual culture. Mirzoff presents the idea of Jameson that anything that is visual is inherently "pornographic" and the idea of Heidegger that the visualization of society is what defines the modern period. The bibliography of this work indicates that Mirzoff used a multitude of sources including websites and books about art, history, and sociology. The purpose of the work is to "examine how visuality has come to play such a central role in modern life." It also attempts to define the sociology of visual culture. An Introduction to Visual Culture is an academic work mainly intended for students studying sociology or perhaps art, but the book discusses culture far more than works of art.

An Introduction to Visual Culture has several flaws. In certain sections it is near impossible to decipher what Mirzoff is attempting to say. His statements are clouded by bombastic language, technical terms, and a congestion of ideas. This combination makes navigating through even one sentence a very difficult task. It is unfortunate that the work is difficult to understand because it is laden with very interesting comments on modern, visual society. Another positive aspect to the work is the Mirzoff does not become too personally involved in the work. He remains an objective observer merely relaying information to the reader. The work contains several images that can be referred to as one is reading along to enhance Mirzoff's statements. In addition, the unbiased view of non-European cultures is noteworthy.

George McElroy