A novel attempt to make sense of our preoccupation with copies of
all kinds-from counterfeits to instant replay, from parrots to
photocopies. The Culture of the Copy is a novel attempt to make
sense of the Western fascination with replicas, duplicates, and
twins. In a work that is breathtaking in its synthetic and critical
achievements, Hillel Schwartz charts the repercussions of our
entanglement with copies of all kinds, whose presence alternately
sustains and overwhelms us. This updated edition takes notice of
recent shifts in thought with regard to such issues as biological
cloning, conjoined twins, copyright, digital reproduction, and
multiple personality disorder. At once abbreviated and refined, it
will be of interest to anyone concerned with problems of
authenticity, identity, and originality. Through intriguing, and at
times humorous, historical analysis and case studies in
contemporary culture, Schwartz investigates a stunning array of
simulacra: counterfeits, decoys, mannequins, and portraits; ditto
marks, genetic cloning, war games, and camouflage; instant replays,
digital imaging, parrots, and photocopies; wax museums, apes, and
art forgeries-not to mention the very notion of the Real McCoy.
Working through a range of theories on biological, mechanical, and
electronic reproduction, Schwartz questions the modern esteem for
authenticity and uniqueness. The Culture of the Copy shows how the
ethical dilemmas central to so many fields of endeavor have become
inseparable from our pursuit of copies-of the natural world, of our
own creations, indeed of our very selves. The book is an innovative
blend of microsociology, cultural history, and philosophical
reflection, of interest to anyone concerned with problems of
authenticity, identity, and originality. Praise for the first
edition "[T]he author... brings his considerable synthetic powers
to bear on our uneasy preoccupation with doubles, likenesses,
facsimiles, replicas and re-enactments. I doubt that these cultural
phenomena have ever been more comprehensively or more creatively
chronicled.... [A] book that gets you to see the world anew,
again." -The New York Times "A sprightly and disconcerting piece of
cultural history" -Terence Hawkes, London Review of Books "In The
Culture of the Copy, [Schwartz] has written the perfect book:
original and repetitive at once." -Todd Gitlin, Los Angeles Times
Book Review
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