Preview

Summary Of Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
176 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death
In Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, he warns us to the dangers brought with reference to the way television acclimatizes us to withstand the short timeframe of visual amusement. Postman’s meaning is that with each new hi-tech vehicle introduced, there is going to be a substantial trade-off. His chief example was the medium of television. Television is designed to deliver knowledge to the viewer on a design which is swift and pleasurable. This experience disheartens any viewer bias, permitting the television broadcasting companies to influence the substance of our rationality. In most cases some accuracy could be found in Postman's reports. His concluding rational point was not only clarification, but a message to his readers and an

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There is no doubt that television holds a purpose in our society today, but is that purpose brain-numbing or actually beneficial to our brain development? The television, also known as: TV, the boob tube, the idiot box, as well as many other nicknames, has been around for almost a hundred years. Ever since cable TV became popular in the 1950’s, there has always been a worry that people watch too much TV. Most people believe that with exorbitant exposure to the popular media both dumbs us down as well as makes us more likely to tolerate acts of violence. Dana Stevens’ “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” argues that television does not make you smarter, directly contrasting Steven Johnsons article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter.” Television has definitely made a mark on our hearts and has most certainly made an impact on society, but too much of a good thing is never a good thing. The propaganda photo about television that was found on Facebook is a good lens that helps me understand Stevens’ argument better. The photo assisted the understanding of Stevens’ depiction and contradiction of Johnsons writing, her discussion about what these “more complex shows” are actually like, as well as her discussion about the national event TV Turn Off Week. This photo clearly depicts that TV does not enhance or benefit in brain production in any way, however it “destroys” the imagination, or what’s left of it, and in return, it fills the mind with complete nonsense, and therefore numbing the brain. The photo, which is a picture of a television, states, “My job is to help destroy what’s left of your imagination by feeding you endless doses of sugar-coated mindless garbage.” As humans, we are very complex intellectual beings, however television has been captivating our minds and bringing our intelligence down.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Neil postman's amusing ourselves to death, Huxley teaches us that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In his teachings we learn that we are always watching our neighbor in order to protect ourselves. Huxley says that all Americans are Marxist, for we believe nothing if not that history is moving us toward some preordained paradise and that technology is the force behind that movement. He is basically saying that due to technology we have culture, political, and religious revolutions. In chapter 11 we realize that watching television is not bad. We must all accept and know why we are watching…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the time that Ray Bradbury had written this book, television was a brand new invention. It was not too terribly popular yet, but he thought that it posed a problem. In Ray’s mind, people would be consumed by irrelevant and insignificant programs, which may become habit-forming as time progressed. He…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman, Postman offers many points along with sufficient evidence as to how today’s media and technology control our mind and our affairs. He also brings up two clashing points of view towards this by the end of the novel: Orwell’s and Huxley’s. Between these two, I agree with Postman’s assertion that Huxley’s vision best applies to American culture today.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In modern day society, of the period following the second millennium, television has become the center at which a lot of people have spent their free time. Television has become such an integral part of the technologically inclined world, that it has become a major industry that seems on par with the film industry. For television to have become as ubiquitous as it has become, it had to go through years of innovation, and this innovation was the product of Philo T. Farnsworth’s original invention of the television,…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amusing Ourselves to Death by Postman (Chapter 10) is a hypothetical counterargument response to various ways in which television and other media can be used for education rather than causing distraction to children. The author posits that television is not interactive. Therefore, the chapter gives a moment of reconsideration of digital technology advances since the publication of this book. Postman highlights that there can be no complete education without the social element: if a child can count, write, and read but cannot develop a conversation, socialize, or question, then he or she is not properly educated. Using the Internet, students are able to interact via various media channels or even with online tutors, but Postman would probably see this system inferior to the traditional setting of a classroom.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Television is the predominant media-metaphor of this generation. Television shapes the way people think, act, and communicate; however, this powerful apparatus does not always disclose the whole truth. In fact, television often hides the whole truth from the public, but, ironically, most people love the media and blindly believe what the media says. As Alford Huxley says, people will “adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” Unfortunately, Huxley’s hypothesis is slowly becoming a reality. In Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death,” Postman argues that the many facets of television people love will actually ruin them. Of these many facets of television, three are predominant. Television is ruining people’s lifestyles…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    television have been damaged in ways that are now so universally common that they go unnoticed. Neil Postman’…

    • 3170 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word “television” provokes different kinds of reactions, whether they are disgusted, elated, or non-chalant. Barbara Enrenreich in the passagae from “The Worst Years of Our Lives”, argues that television is creating couch potatoes. There is some validity to Erenreich’s assertion since the American population has become less active however it provides opportunities for those who do not have acess to the outside world, and has effects different kinds of people. The posibilities that television produces are endless.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bean Trees

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In modern society, it is very uncommon to find someone who does not watch any form of video entertainment. Television is so common in the better countries in the world and society does embrace it in their everyday lives. If society was asked, “How much TV do they watch daily”? They may give a wide variety of responses. Some the answers may range in between one to possibly even over twelve hours a day! The author Terrance Chiusano makes a statement on how much we are attracted and impacted by watching television in his poem, “The Screen”. The video clip mesmerizes the passengers in the plane and got their full, undivided attention. This is in contrast to when the flight attendant acted out the procedures in person. When acted out in person, the passengers just simply looked out the windows, possibly at the engines or even at their hands while the lady was preaching on how to save their lives in the event of an emergency. In The Screen, the passengers clearly prefer to obtain important information through electronic media, such as the movie. This is because just like in modern society, people want to information to be somewhat entertaining and for it to be presented quickly and precisely. If the message is boring or too long, people will simply stop giving their undivided attention. Chiusano is clearly trying to convey this message.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When watching a program, people are focused on the plot, make inferences, and create relationships with characters. Therefore, develops a cognitive exercise for the audience. Johnson informs his readers that there is an interaction between people and a television screen. Some examples he describes are when TV shows allow the viewer to develop a mental outline of a show, when a characters encounter social issues, and giving someone a cultural experience through a TV screen. He includes visuals that show different threads of TV programs, displaying the complexity of their scenes overtime, and how much it challenges the brain. Those graphs associate with Johnson’s term the “Sleeper Curve” (279), which according to him is the most debased form of mass diversion. He says that even if it is just reality television, violent content on TV or video games, and children shows, it still helps people become perceptive. Johnson concludes that instead of people having a negative attitude or having fears of their children being influenced by content of TV or video games, he insists that they both should share the experience. Parents and children will continue to interact with the TV screen mentally and therefore develop skills no matter what they watch. This essay presents in argument that television is good for…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Final Amusing

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Although Neil Postman provides a different structure than Tannen, it still has a very logical order. Postman’s book is broken down into two parts and arranged in a chronological order. Part 1 focuses on the history of the world before the television. Part 2 isolates the specific issues and customs that arise due to the establishment of the television. Each chapter offers various different, but related topics on the effects television has on public discourse. Additionally, Unlike Tannen, who give…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ehrenrichs Tv Essay

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “So why do we keep on watching [Television]?” challenges Barbara Ehrenreich in, The Worst Years of Our Lives. Ehrenreich alleges that television “has transformed the American people into root vegetables” (2-3). Television as we know it is a way to escape the troubles of the real world and enter into a sense of fantasy. People sit for hours watching television which is harmful and may brainwash people to believe what they are told. Television was never invented to exemplify the real world; it was merely a distraction in the path of our trajectory. However Ehrenreich classifies modern Americans as couch potatoes simply because they do not accomplish anything that is displayed on television. I disagree with Ehrenreich’s assertions about television because she assumes everything portrayed in television is danger and thrills. Much of what is advertised on television is informative and important in society.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The "peek-a-boo" world of television is one in which the medium assembles disconnected facts in a "pseudo-context" (76) structure designed to make them more coherent and relevant. This structure is false creating a world that is "endlessly entertaining" (77) but does not allow for critical thinking. Information is shown to the audience so quickly that it does not allow them to think critically about it.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays