This pathbreaking collection of thirteen original essays examines the moral rights of the subjects of documentary film, photography, and television. Image makers--photographers and filmmakers--are coming under increasing criticism for presenting images of people that are considered intrusive and embarrassing to the subject. Portraying subjects in a "false light," appropriating their images, and failing to secure "informed consent" are all practices that intensify the debate between advocates of the right to privacy and the public's right to know. Discussing these questions from a variety of perspectives, the authors here explore such issues as informed consent, the "right" of individuals and minority groups to be represented fairly and accurately, the right of individuals to profit from their own image, and the peculiar moral obligations of minorities who image themselves and the producers of autobiographical documentaries. The book includes a series of provocative case studies on: the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman, particularly Titicut Follies; British documentaries of the 1930s; the libel suit of General Westmoreland against CBS News; the film Witness and its portrayal of the Amish; the film The Gods Must be Crazy and its portrayal of the San people of southern Africa; and the treatment of Arabs and gays on television. The first book to explore the moral issues peculiar to the production of visual images, Image Ethics will interest a wide range of general readers and students and specialists in film and television production, photography, communications, media, and the social sciences.

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Larry Gross is Professor of Communications at University of Pennsylvania. John Stuart Katz is Professor of Film at York University. Jay Ruby is Professor Anthropology at Temple University.

"The case histories documented here can be read with profit by British practitioners. There are questions to be ansered which some have preferred not to hear....Image Ethics does a valuable service in reminding us that the focused object in the lens is a subject too."--Times literary Supplement

"Wonderful text--full of insight and appropriate examples. Much needed for many years."--Tom Mullin, Eastern Washington Univ.

"Particularly timely and thought-provoking."--Ethics

"[An] excellent and very readable book that goes a long way to help students understand the rights of victims and subjects in relation to the role of the journalist."--Glenn Novak, West Georgia College

"Timely and much needed....Image Ethics is that rare thing, a genuine and provocative trail-blazer. It opens up pathways for others to explore more deeply, and is a vital addition to film literature."--Alan Rosenthal in Film Quarterly

"Destined to become a feature of that bookshelf core literature that defines our field of study."--Journal of Broadcast Ethics and Media

"[An] outstanding text...A must read for students....Helps the student see beyond stereotypical images."--Jack G. Shaheen, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

"This invigorating book reminds me of that moment in geological time when Earth shifted on its axis....Adjusting for proportions, Image Ethics fundamentally alters the world of visual imagery....The struggles in Image Ethics over informed consent, pluralism, symbolic annihilation, and o forth have ramifications far beyond the borders of visual media....Merits recognition by serious students within this larger arena. But deliberately connected to narrative ethics in the contributors' future essays of in a subsequent volume, their ethics of representation could serve like an ancient cornerstone of the professional ethics building, squaring up the lines and anchoring its architectural contours."--Journal of Communication

"[A] provocative collection."--Columbia Journalism Review