Neil Postman’s unique novel “Amusing Ourselves to Death” is a thoughtful yet entertaining evaluation of today’s media saturated culture. Although written in 1985, the book comments on many issues of media literacy still relevant today.
On his first page Postman states, “We must look to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor of our national character and aspirations”. This idea although extreme lends a focus for the entire novel: entertainment. Entertainment today has blended itself into everything from the magazines we read to the daily news.
Postman believes we have been conditioned at an early age to depend on media as a learning device. The introduction of Sesame Street encouraged children to learn by being entertained. Although we typically think of children’s programming aiding in education, Postman reveals that it’s only undermining what teachers are trying to do. When parents set their kids in front of the television the children discover to rely on the media to learn and in time may develop into passive learners.
Even though Postman’s example is somewhat outdated we can see evidence of this same process through television shows like Dora the Explorer and products such as leapfrog . Children are encouraged and trained to rely on TV and computers for their learning needs.
This reliance continues into adulthood with the advent of television news shows. Postman talks endlessly about the perils of television newscasts saying, “Television is altering the meaning of being informed by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation.” He feels that news is packaged as entertainment so much that it looses it sense of fact. This illustrates ones inability (laziness) to use a variety of outlets for information. You can’t rely on one specific source whether it be TV, or otherwise. You must be a well-rounded reader to get all the information you need to become a competent viewer. The entertainment value of television doesn’t override the sense of fact. It’s the viewer’s job to develop media literacy skills to discern the fact from fiction.
Overall, we will never be able to slip away from the effects of the media. I feel that people choose to watch TV as an outlet to forget the worries of everyday life. Some people choose to watch for the sole purpose of being entertained and will continue no matter how much we try to change it. Sorry Postman :)
