Amusing Ourselves To Death Neil Postman Analysis

Problems in the world are presented through television. Before the invention of newspapers and other media, information was spread through the word of mouth and later in written forms. When television was invented, communication became visible and information was being spread instantaneously. However, electronic media is reshaping the culture in which we live today by televising serious issues into a form of entertainment. Neil Postman, the author of his 1985 Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, argues the effect that television has had on politics, debate, education, and national discussion; although his arguments on political debates, education, and religion were written before the rise of global communication and social media, his points are valid and are true in the modern world.
Postman argues the decline of communication medium as the invention of television begins to replace print. He asserts that the television is turning important matter into entertainment. Therefore, the images displayed are more important than the information being spread. He argues that since political debates are publicized, “men [are] less concerned with giving arguments than with giving off impressions, which is what television does best” (97). Today, the people included in …show more content…
Even though he wrote Amusing Ourselves To Death in 1985, the assertions he makes about the way television has affected people holds true in the modern world. His arguments are more valid since the rise of global communication and social media because the evidence he states accurately describes the effect that television has had on political debates, education, and religion by turning them into entertainment. It is important for people to be aware about the media culture in order to recognize the difference between education and show