Beyond the Finish Line: Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish - Couverture rigide

Finn, Jonathan

 
9780228003434: Beyond the Finish Line: Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0228003431 ISBN 13 : 9780228003434
Editeur : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020

Synopsis

In the 1880s photographers and sports enthusiasts confidently declared the end of dead heats in sporting competition. Reflecting a broader social belief in technology, proponents of the camera stressed that the device could provide definitive proof of who won and who lost. Yet despite this remedy for the inadequate human eye, competitive races between horses, boats, and bicycles ended too close to call a sole champion. More than a century later, when cameras can subdivide the second into ten-thousandths and beyond, athletes continue to cross the finish line in ties. In this fascinating journey through the history of the photo-finish in sports, Jonathan Finn shows how innovation was animated by a drive for ever more precise tools and a quest for perfect measurement. As he traces the technological developments inspired by this crusade - from the evolution of the still camera to movie cameras, ultimately leading to complex contemporary photo-finish systems - Finn uncovers the social implications of adopting and contesting the photograph as evidence in sport. At every turn empirical obsession intersects with the unpredictability of sports, creating a paradox wherein the precision offered by photo-finish technology far exceeds the realities of human performance and its measurement. Separating athletes by the hundredth, thousandth, or ten-thousandth of a second is often a fiction that comes with significant material and cultural implications. A lively biography of a critical technology, Beyond the Finish Line illuminates the cultural role of the photo-finish in win-at-all-costs culture and warn that in our pursuit for precision we may threaten the human element of sport that galvanizes mere spectators into fans.

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À propos de l?auteur

Jonathan Finn is associate professor of communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
McGill-Queen's University Press
Date d'édition
2020
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0228003431
ISBN 13 
9780228003434
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
248
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible