Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

Knowledge has come about through many different forms throughout history and has constantly changed along with the times. To equate media to epistemology is to say how media relates to how we understand knowledge. In this chapter, Neil Postman discusses how modern media has created an epistemological shift and whether it has affected us for better or for worse. Postman argues that this shift has altered the structure of discourse no differently than how every new medium before it has always done.

Further on in the chapter, Postman does not really believe that the content that is show on television is the actual problem. Since the real problem is not watch people watch, then this brings on the thought that we can find the solution in the way that we watch television programming. (160). Postman believes that this world has not discovered what television actually is as a type of technology, and as a result, there have not been many conversations about this.

All throughout history we have used metaphors to describe people, places, events and emotions; so it is perfectly fitting to describe the mediums with which we project our ideas as a metaphor as well. This is Neil Postman 's basis for his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Television and other media outlets have conditioned us to accept entertainment in every aspect of life; but most of all it masks the state of public affairs and politics. Through his book, Postman begs that we recognize the ways in which media shapes our lives and how we can use them to serve us instead of hurt us. Broken into two parts, Amusing Ourselves to Death focuses on a historical analysis of media, then discusses the television media-metaphor in more detail. Postman examines how media has infected every aspect of public discourse by prizing entertainment as the standard of truth.

Postman goes deep into television and its damaging effects on our culture. Postman says that when watching Television for entertainment only no harm is done, but when it tries to inform us that is when it can get dangerous. He goes into the history of technology and how it affected the past. His main focus throughout the book is that the media shapes our culture directly. We tend not to see just how media does this; we just keep thinking that everything that happens on TV is ?ok? and ?normal?

“The whole problem with news on television comes down to this all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed on one page of a newspaper”. The average news cast is only twenty-two minutes long,and that's not nearly enough time to cover the days events.In Neil Postman’s essay “The News” Postman talks about the structure,content,and goals and results of a television news cast. The news can be compared to the theatres in terms of its structure. According to Postman, “Music takes us immediately into the realm of the symbolic, a world that is not to be taken literally.”

Neil Postman’s novel Amusing Ourselves to Death seeks to look at media and how it shapes and defines culture. Postman has been cited as one of the major media theorists and a great philosopher of his time. To understand the book fully it is important to remember where it came from. The idea was born out of a speech Postman gave about the book 1984 and A Brave New World. It takes the ideas behind these novels and looks at them in a contemporary light, where the “Big Brother” is our own television sets. Television is obviously a form of media and it delivers a message. However, that message and media has its own agenda, to above all entertain. Postman believes that television has become the primary media-metaphor and by that definition

1.) Of this week’s reading the articles, The Medium is the Metaphor the author and Media as epistemology by Neil Postman draw on the fact that present American culture is entirely devoted to entertainment and today’s media-metaphor shift has led much of our public discourse to become nonsense when it does not sever its sole purpose to entertain. Postman also went on to explain on what he means by the term epistemology with the help of some words from epistemology.

Godin first begins his blog by stating examples of how the media has been declining. He states that it is important to realize that our best-selling novels have been replaced by coloring books. Cable channels like TLC and the History Channel show populist, non-educational shows. Not only that, but even newspapers inform their audience with information they do not care to hear. This has resulted in the increase of general population not even purchasing newspapers. Seth Godin goes on to inform the reader that the decline of thoughtful media has been discussed for a century stating that the decrease is not anything new. The new information is, “A fundamental shift not just in the profit-seeking gatekeepers, but in the culture as a whole.” This shows the readers that Godin has done his research. It also shows that he is passionate about the lack of depth and complexity in our modern communications. The readers start to build trust in what he wrote because of his strong illustrations about the topic.

Neil Postman, in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, discusses the harmful effects television in a society that is saturated by it (Postman, 29). As I read Neil Postman’s book, I was given a new point of view on the role of television in my search for news and entertainment. Through Postman’s writing I found that the consequences of television are not in the information presented, but rather in how the information is presented. In addition, after watching “Conspiracy Theory Rock”, a video presented on the television show “Saturday Night Live”, this problem of unfair presentation from corrupt television corporations was made clear through the depiction of untold controversies, such as presidential assassinations (“Conspiracy Theory Rock”). I contest that the problem with the corrupt presentation of television cannot be solved by revising the corporate control, because it is unlikely to occur due to the financial power the corporations hold. Instead, the way that television is consumed must be changed. The solution for the biased and inaccurate presentation of television involves changing the way that the viewer consumes the entertainment by critically considering the source and the circumstance that the information is being presented in.

He says, “There is the eclipse of the public intellectual in the general media by the pundit who substitutes outrageousness for thoughtfulness, and the concomitant decline of the essay in general-interest magazines” (Gabler). The general media is making the public intellectual look less important by indirectly comparing them to a critic who exchanges the remarkable, in terms of ideas and information, for things that appeal to society on a more trivial front. This opinion is tied into a statement made in Sachs’ essay. Sachs’ main point of view is that excessive TV viewing is causing problems. In accordance to what Gabler says, Sachs indirectly addresses the cause. He states, “Television and related media have been the greatest purveyors and conveyors of corporate and political propaganda” (Sachs). As people are exposed to controlled media, it can influences their perspective in a detrimental way. Sachs mentions that, “America’s TV ownership is almost entirely in private hands, and owners make their money through relentless advertising” (Sachs). This advertising as mentioned above in this analysis isn’t benefiting anyone and causing some to not think rationally as they give in to unconscious

Everyday people are shown what has been referred to as an idiot box, boob tube, or “telly”, but more familiarly known as T.V. There is something available on T.V. for almost all types of viewers. There are cartoons for children, shows for seniors, daytime series for housewives, wildlife programs for nature enthusiasts, and the list is endless. The question is, is watching T.V. helping or hurting us? While some people argue that watching television is counter-productive, stimulating and interesting shows may actually be benefitting an individual’s knowledge. In “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” Steven Johnson argues that reality and informative television affects people in positive ways and that the idea of television making us brain dead is

In addition, Nyham says that the best solution to this “problem” is a drastic one similar to amputation, meaning a parent should cut off all access to television. (whatever P) This is not only unrealistic, but also would leave a child feeling isolated from their peers. Douglas, on the other hand, is able to suggest a very obtainable solution of using television to teach a child basic media literacy. Nyham also tries to put on an act for the reader by using medical terms and over-exaggerated words throughout the essay. The author tries too hard to sound educated using words like “infernal” (3) or “cynical nattering” (19) and it comes off as a pathetic attempt to sound credible. Douglas embarrasses the Boston Globe columnist in this category. Douglas’ credibility in this subject remains unchallenged by Nyham’s futile attempts to “wow” the reader with a few “SAT” words. Throughout both essays, there is a communal agreement between Nyham and Douglas on the fact that television has the ability to affect this generation’s children in a very negative way; however, Douglas believes if used correctly, television shows can be a tool for parents to use for not only distracting their child for a few minutes, but also for teaching them essential life skills at a young age.

In Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Postman argues that the information shared with the American populace is shaped by the forms of media that are used. By giving a history of the changing types of American media and the effect that each has on the information given, Postman supports his claim. Postman’s purpose is to prove that media changes the information given to the public in order to call awareness to the validity of our news. Postman writes to an audience who is educated by media and was raised through knowledge shared by media.

All in all, “the media plays a crucial role in setting the national agenda, priming voters to focus on issues that help or harm one side, and framing the way those issues are seen- and resolved” and in all of these ways media influences and shapes politics (Morone and Kersh 245). As time passes, new technologies are developed and this reshapes how media plays a role in politics. “Emerging new media forms are sparking a revolution that is changing

Since the proliferation of cable television and subsequent technological advances including colour, satellite, digital, Smart, and now even 3D TV, television has become a dominant force in our lifestyles. It has physically entrenched itself in our homes and psychologically engrained itself in our minds. As such, television has become an important tool “for integrating individuals into the social order, celebrating dominate values, and offering models of thought and behaviour for imitations (Winslow p. 268). Television is the medium or tool, but the programming or shows represents the pervasive messaging.