Neil Postman

In 1985, author Neil Postman released an article titled “Learning in the Age of Television”. The focus of the article is how technology, more specifically television, can influence and affect the education of children. Postman begins his article discussing how parents have embraced the educational television show “Sesame Street”. The program would prove to justify children’s overexposure to television as well as relieving parents of the responsibility of teaching their children how to read (1).…

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman compared the public discourse between before and after telegraph invention, he suggested the telegraph altered the very nature of social and personal discourse in American culture."The telegraph made a three-pronged attack on typography 's definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale irrelevance, impotence, and in coherence.”Said in The Peek-a-Boo World chapter. The author believed modern technology from telegraph to television, makes…

Matawah Deberry Ms. Chris Dove HUM 110 Nov.3.2015 “Amusing Ourselves to Death” - Neil Postman The first book I chose was “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman. The book begins with Postman setting up his main purpose for writing the book, which is certain aspects of our lives has transformed into some form of entertainment. He first states that some American cities were metaphors for what the U.S stood for at that time in history. For example, Boston was the center for a political…

communicate with them through voice activation? In the third chapter (“Technology”) of his book, Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century, Neil Postman analyzes how progress is defined and how it can result in corruption. Postman also ponders the relationship between moral progress and technological advancements. In the first few pages of the chapter, Postman explains that by the close of the nineteenth century, progress was still thriving, individuals were moving towards…

voice their opinions wether these practices are beneficial or not. “Neil Postman most notably in his 1985 book about American television, titled Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Disclosure in an Age of Show Business, argues that television in particular, mixes information and entertainment so thoroughly that viewers have come to expect even newscasters to be entertaining.” (Greene 421). In response,…

Discourse in the Age of Show Business (AOTD), is a book by Neil Postman that critically analyzes a shift in public discourse and communication through the development of new technologies in modern western culture. More specifically, Postman describes the shift in modern discourse with negative connotations as it further contributes to the growing age of show business and the intellectual decline of western culture. AOTD was published by Neil Postman in 1985, before many of the technologies of…

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman discusses the shift of America from the Age of Exposition to the Age of Show Business. Accordingly, entertainment is the main goal of almost every television program, which takes its toll on the culture as a whole. Postman’s book is still relevant today, as seen in current events. The recent news coverage of Trump’s travels to Asia confirms Postman’s thesis that each medium dictates the content shared, and consequently, television has lowered the level…

a Bridge to the 18th Century, Neil Postman explains his views on how we can improve the future by looking to the past for inspiration. One of the topics he spends a great deal of time discussing is education. and how the education of the young should change. Postman believes that people should be educated to be skeptical as philosophes of the 18th century believed. He has five suggestions on how this should be carried out. Before introducing his suggestions, Postman tackles the question of why…

Some may argue that art cannot express an idea since it has no context, such as that of Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman argues that “unlike words and sentences, the photograph does not present to us an idea or concept about the world, except as we use language itself to convert the image to idea” (Postman 82). While he somewhat does have a point, I believe art can a lot of the time go beyond our limits of language. It is a universal…

Neil Postman’s essay “Defending Against the Indefensible” discusses the idea of distinguishing different forms of linguistic concepts. He believes that teachers should give students the skills to resist manipulative language. Within his essay, Postman introduces seven concepts: definitions, questions, simple words, metaphors, reification, style and tone, and media. With these points, he believes people can defend themselves against misleading forces. The first pillar he discusses is…