A review by kevinm56
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

5.0

This is a very thought provoking book. It was written in 1985, but the concepts remain valid. The basic premise is that there is a difference between the typographic medium and the visual medium. Television largely defined the visual medium in 1985, and it still does, but now the internet has become far more influential. The rise of a visual medium has changed the way we think because the medium of communication is different. Print tends to allow us to think logically, linearly, and more slowly than a visual medium. TV, and the internet, has changed the way we consume information. It has turned information into bite-sized chunks, but in so doing has made it less comprehensive. We think solutions should be simpler, easier. We no longer tolerate nuance and complexity - things are more black and white. We see this in the political polarization of our time. Postman says that the "junk" on TV - sitcoms, vapid dramas, reality TV are not the danger, but the serious shows: news, documentaries, educational TV that shows information as entertainment. That is where the danger lies. Interesting book. Well written - not dry and dull. Recommended.