Political selfies: Image events in the new media field

Abstract

Achilleas Karadimitriou and Anastasia Veneti examine the selfie as a new tool of political communication by placing the discussion and analysis in a very specific theoretical context, that of media events and celebrity politics. Political selfies represent the transition of political actors from the era of stylised public image in the age of ‘exculpation’. Political actors allow themselves to adopt poses of different kinds against a background that varies, containing moments deriving from different aspects of life with regard to professional obligations or relaxation and fun.