In Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, he explains why he is concerned about what technology can do to a culture. More specifically, he is concerned about how technology can harm a culture. In the case of television, Postman believes that by blindly absorbing what we see, Americans are giving up the ability to participate in rational public affairs and discourse such as politics, news, religion, education, economics, etc. His thesis is that media has had a negative effect on the amount of public discourse in America. In his book, Postman first explains his thesis, then he gives a background explanation of the beliefs on which the thesis is supported. In my paper, I will first explain Postman’s basic thesis and argument. Secondly, I will
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16) But the epistemology was only governed by the print until television, (and later media) came along. Postman states: “To put it plainly, television is the new command center of the new epistemology.” (Postman pg. 78) Because of the popularity of television, Postman says that, as a result, "all public understanding of these subjects is shaped by the biases of television" and that in the absence of rational discourse, damage can be done to the country and the culture within it. (Postman pg. …show more content…
I decided to research the Halloween 2017 New York terror attack. I first watched a video from CNN. This video contained a lot of useful information but it was only just over a minute long. (Masters) Furthermore, the clips shown in the video distracted me from the information that the reporter was saying. After that, I read an article on the same event by The Washington Post. (Merle) This article contained all of the information in the video, as well as providing more context and meaning, something which the short video left out. Furthermore, it took me about seven minutes to read through the whole thing comprehensively. Because I was not distracted by video clips or anything of that sort I was able to comprehend the story more effectively. So, the coverage of the New York attack confirms Postman’s thesis that media does in fact negatively affect the level of public discourse in
16) But the epistemology was only governed by the print until television, (and later media) came along. Postman states: “To put it plainly, television is the new command center of the new epistemology.” (Postman pg. 78) Because of the popularity of television, Postman says that, as a result, "all public understanding of these subjects is shaped by the biases of television" and that in the absence of rational discourse, damage can be done to the country and the culture within it. (Postman pg. …show more content…
I decided to research the Halloween 2017 New York terror attack. I first watched a video from CNN. This video contained a lot of useful information but it was only just over a minute long. (Masters) Furthermore, the clips shown in the video distracted me from the information that the reporter was saying. After that, I read an article on the same event by The Washington Post. (Merle) This article contained all of the information in the video, as well as providing more context and meaning, something which the short video left out. Furthermore, it took me about seven minutes to read through the whole thing comprehensively. Because I was not distracted by video clips or anything of that sort I was able to comprehend the story more effectively. So, the coverage of the New York attack confirms Postman’s thesis that media does in fact negatively affect the level of public discourse in