Iconspicuous revolutions of 1989

culture and contingency in the making of political icons

Dominik Bartmański

pp. 39-65

in: Jeffrey C. Alexander, Dominik Bartmański, Bernhard Giesen (eds), Iconic power, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012

Abstract

On the twentieth anniversary of the "fall of the Berlin Wall," the New York Times offered a richly illustrated and prominently displayed coverage of the event. The caption under the top slideshow read: "The Fall of the Berlin Wall signaled the beginning of the end of communism in Europe."¹ It is safe to assume that majority of the New York Times" audience found the message comprehensible, credible, and authentic. Coupled with iconic pictures, the news could hardly fail to confirm what older readers believed they knew well and to provide the young ones with a properly dramatic glimpse into recent history.