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Rating:  -
A careless reading of "Amusing Ourselves to Death" will reveal a string of cliches about the modern era of industry and sense of participation in it: that our politicians are image-focused, "news-of-the-day" is typically useless, and our preachers and teachers are entertainers primarily. This book is hack, if only in the sense that the ideas he presents were of grave concern to Plato. Postman takes that (1) truth is given form by rhetoric, (2) which is defined by the mode of expression, (3) and although historically authors were aware of the distinction between speech, image and text, with the rapid accumulation of new forms of meda we are no longer conscious of how they shape our dialogue, (4) and via the transformation of discourse into image-driven entertainment we are losing the context of content.
If any of this sounds familiar, it is for the same reason that Shakespeare is full of quotes. His ideas have such weight that they have successfully defined the scope of media studies. But perhaps the most insidious nature of television and the Entertainment Age is its ability to package criticism of it into entertainment itself. VH1's extraordinary "I Love the 70's" took B-celebrities commenting on those who have become B-celebrities and the outlandishness extremes of entertainment. To take Postman seriously, it's to understand media studies is not merely studying what's on television, but what is television for.
Rating: -
The cover art of headless viewers watching television says it all. My only brush with the late Neil Postman came when he spoke at the university I was attending in the northwest. A breezy east coaster, he was unaware of the need to step on eggs. During the questions, one woman said, "Mr. Postman, how can we help children have self-esteem?" to which he replied, "I don't want them to have self-esteem; I want them to esteem something other than themselves."
After the stunned silence I and a few others rose and started clapping; it was very much as if life had been returned to Pepperland in Yellow Submarine. I've been clapping inwardly ever since, as when I read this book.
There are hundreds of reviews of this book, which created a stir everywhere. Everyone (except the people running TV) seems to have read it. Most readers find it smooth going. However, those who don't want to tackle the book can still wrestle with the ideas. In Postman's essay collection, Conscientious Objections, he replies to the question "Why are books so long?" with the answer that they don't have to be, and as an example gives a short version of this book.
The basic thesis is that along with George Orwell's 1984 in which civilization lapses into a dystopia (opposite of a utopia) ruled by oppression and violence, there was the opposite vision in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World that society would be destroyed by indulgence in pleasure. Postman says that while you can make a good case for the first view, the second is in full swing. Now if only the desperate networks would read this book and (re)turn to making good TV.
Rating: -
This book takes a while to get going because this dude is like a PHD in literature and therefore his prose is elaborate and his paragraphs must stand up to academic scrutiny and I'm thinking. 'What A Screaming Bore !' By the time I finished the book I felt it was a masterpiece even tho I disagreed with a primary point. He lays the historical background of public discourse down brick by brick so you can better see how evolving espitomologies have changed the communicative landscape, That's what I would call the tedious part of the book but it lays a solid foundation for what's to come. The key point he was trying to make and the point I do not entirely agree with is the medium ( television) is hopelessly flawed. It isn't what's on so much as it doesn't matter what's on because television is intrinsically incapable of producing meaningful communication. I think introverts like myself get more out of television than extroverts but that angle is not explored because the research was not available 20 years ago. Postman hoped that the content of broadcast television would degrade even further to drive more folks away from the tube. That has not ocurred. I'd say it's held a 80/20 trash to useful content ratio but viewers like myself have become more empowered. I use my television as more of a video on demand machine anyway as I suspect many others do. We're not at the mercy of advertisers to the extent we were 20 years ago and that is a giant step in the right direction.
Rating:  -
This is a very interesting book where the author builds a solid argument about the "downfall" of culture as we know it ever since we've had access to any sort of communication technology that came after the printing press (he condems the use of the telegraph and anything that came after it, but in his point of view, the TV is the worst invention ever created).
I can't say I agree with him completely because it's impossible to turn of the TV. I don't think that the solution is to ignore ourt modern screens. Instead, the idea is to change what we see on TV, educate ourselves in the way we recieve what we get from the media.
But Postman is right about the "show era" we live in. I think that his argument about our modern "show buisness" era is great.
My recomendation is to read this book (because it's good) but be careful and read it with a critical eye.
Rating: -
Ever wonder why you can't stop watching TV to pick up a good book and read - Postman will tell you why - you can't! It's not your fault; you've been conditioned by television to NOT THINK - reading is antithetical to your mind-numbing existence that seeks only entertainment and amusement. Want to prove Postman wrong - read this book!
Seriously, Amusing Ourselves to Death is a must read for every thinking Christian - or every Christian who wants to think deeply about the world around them. Postman hits the nail on the head with his assessment of the current condition of the state of man and the incredible (but silent) impact television has had on reshaping the way that we process information and contemplate truth - television has reprogrammed our epistemology - our manner in which we understand things, the concept of what knowledge is. Television bombards us with images, entertains us with useless facts, removes us from the immediate concerns around us to far away places, and ultimately makes the concerns of life, in a word - silly. What we don't realize is how this manner of "thinking" has affected and transformed our ability and the manner in which we proclaim the Truth of the Gospel - to a generation that can only sit for three minutes at a time - just visit your church's youth group and see for yourself what condition our culture is in!
I would suggest this book to any student from about the age of sixteen and up - and all the way up to anyone who's grown up with a television in their home! It's not an easy read - on a "difficulty" scale of 1-10, I would put this as an 7 or an 8, but it's worth the effort. The book is 163 pages in length and can be ordered online or found in most bookstores. I have the Penguin Book edition which retails for $14.00.
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