Smoke Signals Summary

Postman’s words from page 15 make the point that traditional language is the purest form of media. Words shape our culture and our views. Similarly, Carr claims that the printing press kickstarted a “domino” effect that has caused imaginative, rational, inventive and subversive ways of thinking to be put at risk. The two authors share the theme that as media has become based more on technology, the less meaning the content carries. The books raise the theme that we’re steadily becoming more like drones that take everything at face value as it’s presented to us.
Like Postman’s example of “smoke signals” used in class, such simple forms of communication cannot give the reader/viewer the big picture. Smoke signals can’t be used to explain a philosophy or the thought process behind something. The stories we hear have less and less meaning as we become swamped with the numerous options available on modern media formats. Who has time to focus on a large occurrence when you can hear about 20 more just like it with the tap of a screen or click of the remote? People used to go lifetimes only hearing occasional
In chapter two, Postman seems to indicate that even serious forms of media are becoming forms of entertainment. To me, a great example of this can be found in the media’s portrayal of the 2016 Presidential election. Carr on the other hand seems to take the approach that the fast flow of media is desensitizing people to new stories. Both authors, especially Postman, emphasize on how new media formats affect what viewers accept as truth. With Carr’s view of information overload, truth can be hard to define when different opinions are so widely expressed from so many sources. Postman’s view is that people are starting to rely more heavily on entertainment sources as their news outlet, and these sources usually have a spin to their