Recently I read a book! Not really a big deal to me, but it seems in our age of television this has become a rarity. Neil Postman's 20th anniversary edition of Amusing Ourselves To Death, asks a question still relevant now if not prevalent. “What happens to journalism, education, and religion when they become forms of show business?”Many times throughout this book I found myself nodding along with the author in complete agreement. It is quite obvious that Postman has a serious problem with the decline of print media and its influence in today's (or yesterday's) society. More enlightening was the many examples of how media was failing in its attempt to be a medium for serious public discourse.
Midway through the book Postman addresses the 1984 presidential debates and how in a circumstance like that lacks documentation and logic plays no role (97). He posits that the issues discussed are almost irrelevant when the main concern of the candidates is to “win with style” or deliver a “swell one-liner.” Postman claims that this leads to a scenario where “the leader of the free world is chosen by the people in the Television age.”
Of course the whole book does not take this tone, in fact Postman is a fan of television as an entertainment source only. When the boundaries that used to exist with education and religion are crossed are where Postman has the biggest disagreements. Sesame Street is mentioned and its detrimental effects on children learning from the television. Postman has many mentions of how education and multimedia have become synonymous throughout the book he acknowledges that the two can no longer be separated. Postman ended the book with these thoughts and mentioned two notable authors who were leaders in their fields; Aldous Huxley author of Brave New World, and H.G. Wells author of War Of The Worlds. He mentioned these two men because he agreed with them that “we are in a race between education and disaster” (163). These men wrote relentlessly about the need for us all to keep thinking and I am glad for that.
