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1.03k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
1.03k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
This book will, I hope, change my life for the better. I would highly recommend this to everyone I know, especially Millennials and Gen-Zers whose screen time usage is as high as mine.
Postman posits that television as a medium of communication is best suited for amusement, not for serious discourse in the realms of education, politics, religion, or anything else. The telegraph, or instantaneous transmission of information, led to the "large-scale irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence [of information]... The abundant flow of information had very little or nothing to do with those to whom it was addressed; that is, with any social or intellectual context in which their lives were embedded... Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation." Similarly, photographs "re-create the world as a series of idiosyncratic events." Without the ability to put forth an argument, reason, or tell a story, photographs again atomize the world into a series of unrefutable yet only amusing pieces of information.
When combined into the phenomena of television, this new form of communication promotes incoherence and triviality. Every TV show and commercial jolts you from one scene or topic to the next with a speed that produces vertigo. "Thinking" does not play well on television, and viewers will change the channel if they encounter content that requires any sort of prerequisite, or perplexes them in the slightest. This incentivizes shows and commercials (and political or societal discourse?) to make themselves more self-contained, less mentally taxing, and more entertaining. Have you seen a recent political debate (on TV, of course) and thought, "Wow, the candidates really knew the details of their positions and communicated them in such a way that I can be confident that I have a full view of both sides of this issue and can vote accordingly"? Me either. I've been very entertained, though. Our culture has changed so that we "no longer talk to each other, we entertain each other. We do not exchange ideas; we exchange images [memes, anyone?]. We do not argue with propositions. We argue with good looks, celebrities, and commercials."
The issue, at least the issue that Postman is dealing with, isn't that a new form of media has arisen that is entertaining. Rather, it is that we are trying to take this entertaining medium and have serious public discourse in and around it. We convince ourselves that "Sesame Street" teaches our children the alphabet when it really teaches them that learning may be done effectively by sitting in one place while doing exactly what television requires of them - listening to and staring at a screen. We convince ourselves that we're well-informed because we watch the news, while in actuality knowing "of" something is far inferior to knowing "about" it, and we likely know more "of" the last 24 hours than we know "about" the last five centuries of fifty years.
This book was written 21 years before Twitter came to be, but I can't help but see how prophetic Postman has been - Twitter, or any other form of social media, is like television on steroids, and it's clear our society's continued attempts at using these new, more-entertaining media for serious discourse are not working. Conversations on Twitter quickly devolve to ad hominem arguments. Facebook has become a breeding ground for political misinformation. How can you possibly posit and then expound upon any idea within 144 or 288 characters?
I plan to change my media intake to better reflect the uses for which each medium is best suited. I've known for a while now that social media and video don't engage my brain like the written word does, and now I'm able to understand better and put into words precisely why.
Postman posits that television as a medium of communication is best suited for amusement, not for serious discourse in the realms of education, politics, religion, or anything else. The telegraph, or instantaneous transmission of information, led to the "large-scale irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence [of information]... The abundant flow of information had very little or nothing to do with those to whom it was addressed; that is, with any social or intellectual context in which their lives were embedded... Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation." Similarly, photographs "re-create the world as a series of idiosyncratic events." Without the ability to put forth an argument, reason, or tell a story, photographs again atomize the world into a series of unrefutable yet only amusing pieces of information.
When combined into the phenomena of television, this new form of communication promotes incoherence and triviality. Every TV show and commercial jolts you from one scene or topic to the next with a speed that produces vertigo. "Thinking" does not play well on television, and viewers will change the channel if they encounter content that requires any sort of prerequisite, or perplexes them in the slightest. This incentivizes shows and commercials (and political or societal discourse?) to make themselves more self-contained, less mentally taxing, and more entertaining. Have you seen a recent political debate (on TV, of course) and thought, "Wow, the candidates really knew the details of their positions and communicated them in such a way that I can be confident that I have a full view of both sides of this issue and can vote accordingly"? Me either. I've been very entertained, though. Our culture has changed so that we "no longer talk to each other, we entertain each other. We do not exchange ideas; we exchange images [memes, anyone?]. We do not argue with propositions. We argue with good looks, celebrities, and commercials."
The issue, at least the issue that Postman is dealing with, isn't that a new form of media has arisen that is entertaining. Rather, it is that we are trying to take this entertaining medium and have serious public discourse in and around it. We convince ourselves that "Sesame Street" teaches our children the alphabet when it really teaches them that learning may be done effectively by sitting in one place while doing exactly what television requires of them - listening to and staring at a screen. We convince ourselves that we're well-informed because we watch the news, while in actuality knowing "of" something is far inferior to knowing "about" it, and we likely know more "of" the last 24 hours than we know "about" the last five centuries of fifty years.
This book was written 21 years before Twitter came to be, but I can't help but see how prophetic Postman has been - Twitter, or any other form of social media, is like television on steroids, and it's clear our society's continued attempts at using these new, more-entertaining media for serious discourse are not working. Conversations on Twitter quickly devolve to ad hominem arguments. Facebook has become a breeding ground for political misinformation. How can you possibly posit and then expound upon any idea within 144 or 288 characters?
I plan to change my media intake to better reflect the uses for which each medium is best suited. I've known for a while now that social media and video don't engage my brain like the written word does, and now I'm able to understand better and put into words precisely why.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
It's strange resonating with this as an employee for an entertainment company. Aldous Huxley would be so proud
Audiobook
Absolutely brilliant- almost passed on it because it’s from 1985 and I just figured it might not be as relevant, given internet and all. How wrong I was.
In short, the idea is that television and the form it’s taken has made us dumb, distracted, the rats pushing the pleasure button over and over again. If that doesn’t sound too revelatory or thorough, trust me, Postman does a brilliant job of exploring all the implications of this- how long form discourse has been lost, nuanced arguments are no more, and it’s fascinating to see 50+ years of that playing out in real time. Absolute idiots are at the helm, raised on television and simplistic binary beliefs, and no one has the patience to listen to the nuanced ways in which they’re Nazis. Capitalism, entertainment, immediate wants, are everything to our “culture”. Thanks Jeff!
Absolutely brilliant- almost passed on it because it’s from 1985 and I just figured it might not be as relevant, given internet and all. How wrong I was.
In short, the idea is that television and the form it’s taken has made us dumb, distracted, the rats pushing the pleasure button over and over again. If that doesn’t sound too revelatory or thorough, trust me, Postman does a brilliant job of exploring all the implications of this- how long form discourse has been lost, nuanced arguments are no more, and it’s fascinating to see 50+ years of that playing out in real time. Absolute idiots are at the helm, raised on television and simplistic binary beliefs, and no one has the patience to listen to the nuanced ways in which they’re Nazis. Capitalism, entertainment, immediate wants, are everything to our “culture”. Thanks Jeff!
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Holds up remarkably well, especially given how often I've heard it referenced. Short and to the point, which is largely examining how the medium changes the message.
challenging
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
Really insightful, really true. My only qualm is that I’m left feeling a bit more hopeless and rudderless than before. If people have known what’s going on for this long and we’re still barreling down the path? Feels kind of bad.
This book is incredibly substantive and pertinent, withstanding the inexorable passage of time. A compelling caveat for the posterity, it explores the blight of the technological age and specifically its failure to be perceived as a ‘serious medium,’ departing from typographic forms (aka books). Postman in particular exquisitely demonstrates how media intersects with the political, religious and educational realms of discourse. If I were to judge books based on how thought-provoking they were, this would definitely make my top 5. The length of the following review is truly a testament to how intellectually-stimulating and introspective this reading experience was for me…
Huxley vs Orwell
An interesting and clever allusion that recurs throughout the book involves the conflicting prophetic visions espoused by Huxley and Orwell - while the latter feared the shackles of a tyrannical government (more conspicuous forms of enslavement), Huxley feared that “what we love will ruin us.” In other words, that we will voluntarily walk into the trap, completely oblivious to our indoctrination because it is cloaked in amusing and garish garbs suitable for a ‘vaudeville.’
If Postman were to live till the 2020s, I think he would absolutely flip his shit. I mean, he describes the 1980s as already completely divested of rational discourse - if he were to step into the zeitgeist of our time, I wonder what he would say? Social media is a ubiquitous force that has seeped into every fissure of our lives (an unoriginal platitude but an inescapable fact), configuring our brains into permeable structures starved for any form of stimuli. Fortunately/ unfortunately, this can be satiated with unprecedented brevity on our phones - our own portable prison into which we can retreat for hours. We also hold the key to this prison, but why unlock it when we can shield ourselves from an inexplicable and uncertain world? All your anxieties - work, school, family - can be suspended as long as your finger is scrolling.
The Medium Matters
The book doesn’t necessarily dispute the output of the medium of communication, but the medium itself, which can be expressed in the axiom “the medium is the metaphor” (reality is inferred through symbols perpetuated by the medium). As digital media has risen to ascendancy, the nature of discourse has changed substantially from previous typographic eras, remoulding itself specifically to our emotional needs. At one point, Postman adeptly delineates this through the example of car ads where the product is not often the one being sold (its rational, validity-based claims), but rather the lifestyle which it embodies, hence appealing to our fears and desires. “Where advertising was one thought of as a rational process it has since become ‘one part depth psychology, one part aesthetic theory.’”This is one example of the de-rationalisation of discourse that has transpired from the mechanisation of knowledge.
The digital ecosystem additionally promotes a simplistic decontextualised, insubstantial and continuous discursive landscape where nothing can be taken with an ounce of gravitas - it seems that the fragmented and trivial snippets of information (expressed distinctly through images) transmitted via the media condemns the very notion of introspection. “‘Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation.” The moment we begin to question what we see, a new topic is immediately broached, often with no connection to the previous one. Simultaneously, history is rendered obsolete as “with television, we vault ourselves into a continuous, incoherent present.” How can media be thus taken serious?
Naturally, as the media inundates us with bountiful flows of information, the quality of that information declines and we become demotivated and disinterested (information glut). It becomes virtually impossible to sort through every morsel of information, sift out the biases, and categorise and analyse it. Its only redeeming quality as a medium is simply to transport information at rapid speeds, but how will that serve us in the long run if we cannot discern it?
Postman remarks how television not only reflects our culture in technicolour clarity, but it shapes it as well, including our epistemologies. “Truth, like time itself, is a product of a conservation man has with himself about and through the techniques of communication he has invented.” The interplay of image and instancy have been honed to such a pernicious degree that we can no longer read between the lines to infer the truth. After all, there are no lines to read between in the first place, since written communication has been entirely discarded to the periphery.. heh.
Politics, Religion and Education
In the age of technology, politics has become increasingly sensationalised, its content condensed to fit comfortably within the average Westerner’s attention span. Where American presidents once held meaningful and well-organised 3-hour debates, now they can be diminished to incoherent ramblings. Where all religious matters were dealt covertly with god in the confines of the church, now it has become a spectacle, expanding itself to the stage set. Drama is favoured over exposition. Amusement over logic. It seems as if everyone can be titled voyeurs nowadays, as media offers the perfect vantage point into strangers’ lives.
It’s never “how can education be used to transform technology consumption” but “how can technology be used to transform education.” Postman offers compelling empirical evidence to dispute the latter. Teaching has become an unserious and amusing activity with the alluring novelty of technology. Pedagogical models are structured around how to accommodate this product of the 20th century, not the other way around.
Through reading this book, I’ve come to realise how the media is, in some ways, complicit in the current ethos of anti-intellectualism that has infiltrated our institutions. This manifests itself in the alarming pay disparity between so-called ‘influencers’ (entertainers) and educators, doctors, engineers etc. It is a pity how we disproportionately exalt entertainment paradigms over logic-based professions that make groundbreaking intellectual contributions…
A Torch in the Dark?
In the mechanical face of society, while the internet drones on interminably, Postman claims we have the cultural imperative to become cognisant of the present and impending dangers of the media. He encourages us to lift a veil from our eyes to the meticulously crafted corporate schemes that monopolise our attention. This will allow us to “break the spell” and ultimately demystify technology, thereby achieving a state of media consciousness. In this way, the entertainment industry cannot wield the weapon of public oblivion so steadfastly.
I will leave this review on this final slightly-optimistic note… Overall this was such an enlightening book that I will definitely reminisce on for years to come !
Huxley vs Orwell
An interesting and clever allusion that recurs throughout the book involves the conflicting prophetic visions espoused by Huxley and Orwell - while the latter feared the shackles of a tyrannical government (more conspicuous forms of enslavement), Huxley feared that “what we love will ruin us.” In other words, that we will voluntarily walk into the trap, completely oblivious to our indoctrination because it is cloaked in amusing and garish garbs suitable for a ‘vaudeville.’
If Postman were to live till the 2020s, I think he would absolutely flip his shit. I mean, he describes the 1980s as already completely divested of rational discourse - if he were to step into the zeitgeist of our time, I wonder what he would say? Social media is a ubiquitous force that has seeped into every fissure of our lives (an unoriginal platitude but an inescapable fact), configuring our brains into permeable structures starved for any form of stimuli. Fortunately/ unfortunately, this can be satiated with unprecedented brevity on our phones - our own portable prison into which we can retreat for hours. We also hold the key to this prison, but why unlock it when we can shield ourselves from an inexplicable and uncertain world? All your anxieties - work, school, family - can be suspended as long as your finger is scrolling.
The Medium Matters
The book doesn’t necessarily dispute the output of the medium of communication, but the medium itself, which can be expressed in the axiom “the medium is the metaphor” (reality is inferred through symbols perpetuated by the medium). As digital media has risen to ascendancy, the nature of discourse has changed substantially from previous typographic eras, remoulding itself specifically to our emotional needs. At one point, Postman adeptly delineates this through the example of car ads where the product is not often the one being sold (its rational, validity-based claims), but rather the lifestyle which it embodies, hence appealing to our fears and desires. “Where advertising was one thought of as a rational process it has since become ‘one part depth psychology, one part aesthetic theory.’”This is one example of the de-rationalisation of discourse that has transpired from the mechanisation of knowledge.
The digital ecosystem additionally promotes a simplistic decontextualised, insubstantial and continuous discursive landscape where nothing can be taken with an ounce of gravitas - it seems that the fragmented and trivial snippets of information (expressed distinctly through images) transmitted via the media condemns the very notion of introspection. “‘Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation.” The moment we begin to question what we see, a new topic is immediately broached, often with no connection to the previous one. Simultaneously, history is rendered obsolete as “with television, we vault ourselves into a continuous, incoherent present.” How can media be thus taken serious?
Naturally, as the media inundates us with bountiful flows of information, the quality of that information declines and we become demotivated and disinterested (information glut). It becomes virtually impossible to sort through every morsel of information, sift out the biases, and categorise and analyse it. Its only redeeming quality as a medium is simply to transport information at rapid speeds, but how will that serve us in the long run if we cannot discern it?
Postman remarks how television not only reflects our culture in technicolour clarity, but it shapes it as well, including our epistemologies. “Truth, like time itself, is a product of a conservation man has with himself about and through the techniques of communication he has invented.” The interplay of image and instancy have been honed to such a pernicious degree that we can no longer read between the lines to infer the truth. After all, there are no lines to read between in the first place, since written communication has been entirely discarded to the periphery.. heh.
Politics, Religion and Education
In the age of technology, politics has become increasingly sensationalised, its content condensed to fit comfortably within the average Westerner’s attention span. Where American presidents once held meaningful and well-organised 3-hour debates, now they can be diminished to incoherent ramblings. Where all religious matters were dealt covertly with god in the confines of the church, now it has become a spectacle, expanding itself to the stage set. Drama is favoured over exposition. Amusement over logic. It seems as if everyone can be titled voyeurs nowadays, as media offers the perfect vantage point into strangers’ lives.
It’s never “how can education be used to transform technology consumption” but “how can technology be used to transform education.” Postman offers compelling empirical evidence to dispute the latter. Teaching has become an unserious and amusing activity with the alluring novelty of technology. Pedagogical models are structured around how to accommodate this product of the 20th century, not the other way around.
Through reading this book, I’ve come to realise how the media is, in some ways, complicit in the current ethos of anti-intellectualism that has infiltrated our institutions. This manifests itself in the alarming pay disparity between so-called ‘influencers’ (entertainers) and educators, doctors, engineers etc. It is a pity how we disproportionately exalt entertainment paradigms over logic-based professions that make groundbreaking intellectual contributions…
A Torch in the Dark?
In the mechanical face of society, while the internet drones on interminably, Postman claims we have the cultural imperative to become cognisant of the present and impending dangers of the media. He encourages us to lift a veil from our eyes to the meticulously crafted corporate schemes that monopolise our attention. This will allow us to “break the spell” and ultimately demystify technology, thereby achieving a state of media consciousness. In this way, the entertainment industry cannot wield the weapon of public oblivion so steadfastly.
I will leave this review on this final slightly-optimistic note… Overall this was such an enlightening book that I will definitely reminisce on for years to come !