The pictures in our heads that define who we are and help us neatly categorize others are increasingly shaped by the newspaper, magazine, film, and TV images that bombard our senses. To convey a message quickly, these images often rely on stereotypes and primal reflexes that can foster in an audience an inordinate fear of violence, racial and ethnic prejudices, diminished self-worth, and even eating disorders as young women attempt to mimic the look of high-fashion models. This program is a behind-the-scenes look at the media’s image-makers, from the first photographers to today’s Madison Avenue wizards, and asks some disturbing questions about the self-selected few who hold a distorted mirror up to our society. (28 minutes)