Demanding Images

“Karen Strassler convincingly links ideologies of transparency that are associated with new media forms with political and social concepts. Especially valuable is her attentiveness to both the ideological valence of new media and the pragmatic implications of what it can and cannot do in practice. Smart, stylish, and sophisticated, Demanding Images is absolutely superb.” — Webb Keane, George Herbert Mead Collegiate Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan

“An inspiring account of the demands made upon images (to testify and endure) and the complex demands images make in turn upon those who use them. Establishing the conflictual politics of the visual, Karen Strassler dissects the ambivalence and volatility of image-events in prose that is both analytically precise and poetically rich. This is a learned contribution to the study of contemporary Indonesia and an ominous handbook illuminating the convulsive nature of new media landscapes that are changing lives everywhere.” — Christopher Pinney, Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture, University College London

"Demanding Images encourages readers to adopt a valuable new perspective on post-authoritarian Indonesian politics." — Megan Brankley Abbas, PoLAR