Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death Analysis

Amusing ourselves to death, was written by Neil postman in the year 1985. A period synonymous with psychedelic visuals, Ronald Regan and the television. Initially invented in 1927, the television stood the test of time and was widely available in most American households. While others were celebrating a new era in entertainment, Postman was worried about the sociological and political effects the television would have on the American public, he addressed this concerns in his book. Postman’s main concern was the evolution political discourse would undergo with the introduction of the television. He stated these theories in parts of his book pulling references from other social pundits such as Marshall McLuhan , Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Postman was in a good position to comment
on this, he was a revered author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic. He started propounding such theories during his days at Colombia University where he watched the television rise and rob printed media of its importance in social and political discourse.
The title “Amusing ourselves to death” speaks for itself. The television is a widely available communication apparatus. In recent years we have seen the television rise and involve its self in political discourse, with talk shows and the nightly news being a main part of society, this is what Postman was afraid of. He had several opinions regarding the television; he embraced it as an effective use of communication but disliked its involvement in social and
political discourse.
“And so, I raise no objection to television's junk. The best things on television are its junk, and no one and nothing is seriously threatened by it. Besides, we do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant. Therein is our problem, for television is at its most trivial and, therefore, most dangerous when its aspirations are high, when it presents itself as a carrier of important cultural conversations. The irony here is that this is what intellectuals and critics are constantly
urging television to do” (Postman 16). Junk was a word frequently used by Postman in the early parts of his book, a word he used to refer to entertainment the television has to offer. He was not bothered about the “junk” so far it did not seep into the socio-political conversation. As a medium of communication, he appreciated the visual reach the television possessed as this was its unique quality, one the radio and the printed media lacked. ” "The single most important fact about television is that people watch it, which is why it is called "television." And what they watch, and like to watch, are moving pictures – millions of them, of short duration and dynamic variety” (Postman 92). The visual effects of television played a major role in the political discourse. It created a factor called “Image politics” this involved voters basing their judgments on the representation of candidates and not their values or policies. Several examples include Ronald Regan’s Hollywood status before his presidential tenure and most Americans not knowing Roosevelt was wheel chair bound due to the lack of Televisions in his era.

The internet has joined the political discourse in a major way, with most television stations owning websites. Postman’s argument relates to the internet directly, even though it was not widely available in the year 1985. Most Content on the internet is pushed to develop profit, just like the television, each interesting headline has a flashy Ad widget attached to it. Internet articles are published daily, depending on world events, with each site having a quota of articles to meet, most articles are either diluted, stretched or false. Websites like buzzfeed, aPlus and likes.com are full of content Postman would refer to as junk, but in recent years they have begun to publish articles in the Socio-political field. With titles such as “10 things you didn’t know about Barrack Obama “or “which presidential Candidate are you”? Take the quiz”, such click bait articles can influence the way the poles swing. With the next Presidential less than a year away, we can already see how Postman’s observations will play a role in deciding the winner. Each candidate has become associated with stories reported frequently on them. Donald trump has been painted as a villain because of his views on immigration, Ben Carson as a confused Ex- Neurosurgeon, Bernie Sander as a highly ambitious liberal, Hillary Clinton as a woman of many secrets and Chris Christie as the unfit candidate from Jersey Shore. Though written 30 years ago Postman’s text can still be used to decipher current political trends in America. Judging by the title of Postman’s book the question still remains, when will we die? Or are we already dead? With the recent primary debates held on Fox news I think as a society we need a political revival.