1. Amusing Ourselves to Death
In Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil Postman declares "we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death."" The decline of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television have generated a great media metaphor shift in America, with the result that much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. "Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice."" .
The time period from the early-eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century is identified by Postman as the Age of Exposition. During this period the printing press governed discourse in America. As he believes the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be, discourse was generally coherent, serious and rational; unlike the shriveled and absurd discourse generated by television. Postman argues that typography amplified many of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse: "a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response."" .
Postman points to the middle years of the nineteenth century as the time when the telegraph and the photograph came together and laid the foundation for the Age of Show Business. The telegraph saw to it that space was no longer an inevitable constraint on the movement of information. It "erased state lines, collapsed regions, and, by wrapping the continent in an information grid, created the possibility of a unified American discourse."" Unfortunately, according to Postman, the telegraph also attacked typography's definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale "irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence."" "To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowing of lots of things, not knowing about them.
Amusing Ourselves to Death Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Television has entered our homes at an alarming rate since its first conception. ... The result is that we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death (3-4). 2 As the entertainment industry has now became a world dominated force, its shape and form has constantly changed over the years to get to where it has arrived to this day. ...
However, surely it is overly simplistic to claim, as Neil Postman does in his book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," that these forms of communication, namely television and its predecessors, the telegraph and photograph, single-handedly brought about this decline in the quality of public discourse? ... It should be said that, despite Postman's failure to look at the big picture, and even though there are flaws in his argument, many aspects of "Amusing Ourselves to Death" are worthy of note. ...
During the reading of "Amusing Ourselves to Death," I found my self agreeing and disagreeing at the same time about many of the points Postman makes. The main point of the book the author is trying to convey is the effect of the development of television in our generation and how bad it is for us....
On Ellen's death bed, she is not longer able to repress her true emotions and, even though deep inside of her is something that pushes her to the true and almost permit her to wail her sorrow, she ends up denying all over again. ... It invites to identify ourselves with Granny Weatherall and to attend to aspects of the overall situation to which she herself is only dimly aware. What amuses me the most is the great capacity of denial that human beings can have. We can convince ourselves of something and, if it is practiced enough, we end up believing as a total, undeniable true what at th...
The Puppetry of Postman While reading the tenth chapter of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, the reader is manipulated. Television shows such as "Sesame Street," that are generally thought of as educational are portrayed as dentrimental to a child's conception of what is proper behavior...
Death and Emily Dickinson One of the great mysteries in life is death. ... Contrary to popular belief of death being a cold, heartless killer Dickinson personifies Death as a civil gentleman. ... One can infer that Dickinson was at ease and relaxed with Death as they rode in their carriage slowly traveling towards eternity. " The Carriage held but just Ourselves-- and Immortality."" ... In this poem death is not seen as a grave and solemn experience but from a comical and amusing view as demonstrated by the fly interposing on one's death. ... Death is the primary truth of life. ...
Sean Stockman Intercultural Communications December 4, 2002 Amusing Ourselves to Death I have just read Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman states that the age of typography has been replaced by the age of television. This has changed the way we look at the world and the way we think...
Not aware of it, many of us know someone, if not ourselves, who is an alcoholic. ... Other symptoms include forgetting things that happened while intoxicated, irritability, an unorganized personal or professional life, and seclusion from things that used to occupy time and amuse one's self. ... Deaths due to alcohol use and abuse are very common. Nearly 100,000 deaths annually are caused by alcohol. ...