Amusing Ourselves to Death: It's Time to Stop Laughing
The form of communication created by the television is not only a part of how our modern society communicates, but is has changed public discourse to the point that it has completely redefined it, argued Neil Postman in his convincing book Amusing Ourselves to Death. He viewed this as very harmful, and additionally so because our society is ignorant of it as they quickly becomes engulfed in its epistemology. When faced with the question about whether the television shapes or reflects culture, Postman pointed out that it is no longer applicable because "television has gradually become our culture" (79). What kind of culture is this? Postman warned that it is one in which we are instructed and informed through the form of entertainment, and that through such a medium, we are becoming dulled, ignorant of real issues, and amused right into a very possible culture death. Today, sixteen years after the book's publication, he would probably have a similar message (though possibly more passionate) to say about our present culture, especially in the areas of education and the nightly news, which have grown progressively worse.
Taking two authors, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, he compared their views about the future of information. Orwell's view was that we would be overcome by a controlling force and books would be banned, leaving us without proper information or instruction. Huxley, on the other hand, suggested that the squelching of information would not be the problem. Instead, it would be the voluminous mass flooding our culture that would make us ignorant. We would have so much to choose from, both useful and worthless, that we would become indifferent t...
... middle of paper ...
...information invades the living room, they wonder why they are being tricked and mislead. Or worse, they do not even realize it. We are not a culture known for its thinking. Perhaps we are best known for our entertainment. Only when we divide these two realms will we become more accurate informed. Neil Postman, comparing Orwell and Huxley's theories, said, "[Our threat of being deprived of proper information] does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours" (155). His point was that by our own choosing, we are being misinformed. In our "information age" we have intelligent books, newspapers, magazines, and other information sources that have not been greatly affected by the television culture. We just need to stop laughing and seek to be properly informed.
Works Cited:
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York: Penguin Books, 1985.
In itself, the concept of marrying Paris rendered Juliet suicidal. Tybalt’s death, according to the thoughts of Capulet, left Juliet struck with grief. Therefore, he agreed to allow Paris to marry his daughter, in order to supposedly restore her cheer. Juliet’s and Friar Lawrence’s ingenious, yet lethal, intentions spawned after Juliet decided to be independent and not trust the principles of her own family. While her parents strived for her happiness, the words, “I will drag thee on a hurdle thither” (III.v.160), brought too much agony for her to manage, as she knew that her only choice was to marry Paris. Conclusively, Tybalt’s death was the foremost influence of Lord Capulet’s desire to marry Juliet to Paris, intending to bring joy to her. To the family’s dismay, they were unaware of the catastrophic events to come, because of
king. In scene 2 act 2 we are shown Macbeth in a state of shock and
Television and the visual culture are “creating new conceptions of knowledge and how it is acquired” (p. 145). Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death explains the effects of television and visual culture on the youth education curriculum. Postman believed it necessary to warn society of the consequences of living in a culture dominated by television. As for my opinion on this matter, I do not agree with Neil Postman’s statements in regards to television and our youth’s education. I believe it is not the crisis Neil Postman makes it out to be.
His immoral personal history with the murders and thoughtless actions causes us to realize in truth
Postman bases his argument on the belief that public discourse in America, when governed by the epistemology of the printing press, was "generally coherent, serious, and rational" (16) because the reader was required to ingest, understand, and think about the logic of the author's arguments before coming to a verdict. In effect, intelligence in a print-based world "implies that one can dwell comfortably without pictures, in a field of concepts and generalizations" (26). However, with the emergence of television and its rapid ascendancy in our culture, Postman argues that discourse has become "shriveled and absurd" (16). TV, he says, assaults us with fleeting images and disconnected bits of information with no context except for the "pseudo-context" which is manufactured "to give fragmented and irrelevant information a seeming use" (76). In effect, TV demands a certain kind of content-the "medium is the message" in the words of Marshall McLuhan-that Postman believes is suitable to the world of show business and hostile to the print-based world of logical thinking (80). This is not to say that TV ignores important subjects such as current affairs, politics, religion, science, and e...
In his novel, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman describes to the reader, in detail, the immediate and future dangers of television. The argument starts out in a logical manner, explaining first the differences between today's media-driven society, and yesterday's "typographic America". Postman goes on to discuss in the second half of his book the effects of today's media, politics on television, religion on television, and finally televised educational programs. He explains that the media consists of "fragments of news" (Postman, 1985, p.97), and politics are merely a fashion show. Although Postman's arguments regarding the brevity of the American attention span and the importance of today's mass media are logical, I do not agree with his opinion of television's inability to educate.
Juliet has never been in a relationship before, so this is a new experience for her. Lady Capulet, Capulet, the nurse, and others thought that she is being ridiculous. They think that she is stubborn and foolish for not wanting to marry Paris. Her father gets very upset when he hears Juliet will not and does not want to marry Paris as he expresses to her.
kept as a virgin and whilst she is married, she must not have sex with
Not only educational shows accomplish these goals, but fictional television programs can often incorporate information that requires viewers to grapple with a topic using logical reasoning and a global consciousness. In addition, not to diminish the importance of reading, television reaches those who may never pick up a book or who might struggle with reading problems, enabling a broader spectrum of people to interact with cognitive topics. Veith has committed the error of making generalizations about two forms of media when, in truth, the situation varies depending on quality and content. However, what follows these statements is not just fallacious, but
Considerable expectations are placed on Juliet due to her gender. As a female, Juliet was expected to marry the man of her family’s choosing, granting her no control over her future. Capulet and County Paris discuss whether Juliet is fit to be a bride. Although age plays a factor in this decision, Capulet is deciding his daughter’s fate based on the expected gender roles of her being the sole female daughter of the family, “ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;/Let two more summers wither in their pride/
Lady Capulet is very materialistic and she wants Juliet to gain wealth and status by marrying Paris ‘’Share all that he doth possess’’. In addition, because she got married at a young age, therefore she thinks it’s right for Juliet to be married at a young age ‘’I was likely your mother at just about your age’’. Moreover, she constantly urges Juliet to marry Paris without any sense of consideration for Juliet’s opinions or feelings, about the alliance of the marriage. Furthermore, this illustrates her cold attitude towards love and marriage as she only talks about Paris Social position and wealth.
marriage and if she doesn't then he will be going back on his word. In
Considerable expectations are placed on Juliet due to her gender. As a female, Juliet is expected to marry the man of her family’s choosing, granting her no control over her future. Capulet and County Paris discuss whether Juliet is fit to be a bride. Although age plays a factor in this decision, Capulet is deciding his daughter’s fate based on the expected gender roles of her being the sole female daughter of the family, “ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;/Let two more summers wither in their pride/ Ere we
Capulet is shown to be very authoritative over his wife, asking her to ‘Go you to Juliet’ and ‘Prepare her’ for the wedding. This shows us that Capulet has no doubt his wife will do what she tells her, and the use the imperative verbs such as ‘go’ and ‘prepare’ imply that women were forced to obey their husband’s instructions. We are also shown that the role of the mother was to prepare her daughter for her wedding day.
Macbeth's excessive pride is now his prevailing character attribute. This feature of his personality is well depicted in Act IV, Scene 1, when he revisits the Witches, without any coercion. His confidence and impression of subjective impregnability are the main cause for his tragic downfall.