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Essay#2

Introductory Paragraph

Within this context, it is first important to understand that Postman explains how popular media of a historical moment impacts the world’s conversation in Amusing Ourselves to Death. Although it was published in 1985, it is much more relevant now as a result of the internet’s development and the proliferation of social media. A person’s attention span is the amount of time they can devote to a single topic or thought. To begin, Postman discusses the qualities of self-disciplined students who can sit through a four to five-hour lecture without becoming distracted. It is possible to understand and arrange statements since people may listen and acquire information. In 1858, an argument lasted seven hours, while another lasted only three hours 1858. Pre-written speeches by both Douglass and Lincoln have the power of typography to attract attention because their language is unambiguous and straightforward, according to Postman. He demonstrates that television as a medium cannot support such a complicated exchange of ideas. He illustrates how the deterioration in public dialogue began. In Postman’s view, television is hazardous because it must continually be amusing to be used. Because it’s constantly in the moment, fragmented and reliant on images, it has no choice but to amuse. In television, the entertainment need will always outweigh any other necessity, such as educating, reasoning, or arguing. Is there any other way to do it in a “peek-a-boo world”? His typographic epistemology is thus linked to current internet epistemology since he addresses a technology that is still in its infancy—the computer—in his writings. If we want to operate our companies, create our grocery lists, or organize our checkbooks, we are informed that we need a computer to do it. Possibly some of this is real. In addition, television is the primary source of information about computers and their impact on our lives. It’s because we obtain all of our knowledge from television, according to Postman, that it’ll continue to be dominant. It’s how we learn about the world and how we interact with it.

Body Paragraphs

In the past, it has been said that the delivery of severe, terrible information is mulled over for a few minutes before switching to the next and being swiftly forgotten. Debates that used to last for hours have been replaced with presidential debates that last only minutes, with politicians fighting for the most excellent optics while answering questions and refuting in rapid-fire succession CITATION Tim17 l 1033 (Cigelske). In the context of their fame and public personas, televangelists present God in a “vague” way. Postman’s assertion that “the finest things on television are its rubbish, and no one and nothing is genuinely threatened by it” is understandable given these instances. Television made everything else unimportant by trying to accomplish more than creating the trivial. America has never been so deceived into believing that they were well-informed while uneducated. As long as there has been a hunger for fun, the nostalgic image Postman paints of the past are worth delving further into. However, it is undeniable that the ease with which one may access and enjoy various forms of entertainment, as well as the sheer number of options available, have expanded considerably. Streaming services, on-demand news, and social media may benefit from a Postman-style criticism of modern electronic media. Consumers now have more options than they had in the past, which gives them more power. As far as Postman knows, television will be around for some time. Technology such as television and other contemporary devices serve a function, and those involved in creating and using them typically have good intentions CITATION JMv04 l 1033 (Laan). Because they weren’t designed for this kind of application, these media can’t appropriately express specific types of knowledge or information, resulting in a condensed message.

The primary goal of modern typography is to create a text’s visual shape from its intended functions. Modernist designers believe that written matter should be expressed in its purest and most natural form: Writings by Neil Postman’s core themes have always been on media, their many forms of expression, and their significance to individuals, society, and culture. According to Neil Postman, print culture did not go out all at once. The print was the only medium accessible at the time. The print was used as a model, metaphor, and standard for all conversation since a print monopoly existed. This emphasis on the qualities of the discourse produced by the written words is emphasized by Postman. The linear and analytic structure is essential to print and the written word.

To put it another way, the Age of Show Business was born when television emerged as the essential source of truth and information in American culture CITATION Dan88 l 1033 (Shanahan). As a result, it has become an integral part of American life. Television incorporated many of the best aspects of photography and telegraphy into a single medium.

Conclusion

Decentralization, in my opinion, is the most significant difference between Internet discourse and that of the telegraph, radio, and television, to name just a few. In the pre-telegraphy era, oral and typographic culture were the primary means of communication. The American was still a composite of areas, each communicating in its manner, addressing its interests. The public’s discourse in the telegraph and television eras has one thing in common: they both rely on the command center, and the audience can only be a receiver. Thus, the newspaper and television are a dictatorship’s finest brainwashing and propaganda weapons since they are constantly available. On the other hand, the Internet fundamentally altered the way people communicate, enabling data to be shared and consumed by anybody, everywhere there was Internet access. As Postman explains, this complex interchange of ideas is not possible on television. He describes how public discourse started to deteriorate. Using television is dangerous because it must always be entertaining, according to Postman. It can’t help but amuse itself since it’s always in the present, fractured, and dependent on visuals. Whether or not a show is educational, reasoning, or disputing, it will always be entertaining. Modern typography’s fundamental purpose is to build a text’s visual form from its intended functions, all of which must be understood. Modernist designers believe that textual content should be conveyed in its most natural form: When it comes to media and its numerous forms of expression, Neil Postman’s writings have always focused on this topic. In Neil Postman’s view, print culture didn’t disappear all at once. At the time, the print was the solely available medium. Since there was a print monopoly, the pattern was utilized as a model, metaphor, and standard for all communication. Postman emphasizes the importance of the discourse characteristics provided by the written words. Print and the written word rely on a strictly linear and analytic structure to function. Postman believes that television is the pinnacle of this universe. In Postman’s view, television is hazardous because it must continually be amusing to be used. Because of this, television is a far less successful medium for promoting democratic conversation than the written word. TV has become the dominant media in Postman’s day, and this is not an issue without it. Therefore because of this, in Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman explains how popular media of a moment in history impact the world’s conversation.

Works Cited

Cigelske, Tim. “Politics and Culture: Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death?” Journal of Media Ethics, vol. 32, no. 3, 2017, pp. 181–83.

Laan, J. M. van der. “Neil Postman and the Critique of Technology (In Memory of Neil Postman Who Died on October 5, 2003).” Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, vol. 24, no. 2, 2004, pp. 145–50.

Shanahan, Daniel. “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.” The Social Science Journal, vol. 25, no. 3, 1988, pp. 386–88.