Neil Postman

and political concerns. After all, who would care about anything else if life and death is broadcast live on television, and everyone can vote and donate to impact the progress of the games? The notion of “recreation to death” was put forward by Neil Postman. In this sense, the audiences, i.e. the citizens are constantly faced with the brutal death on the screen, and they therefore become numb and indifferent to the sufferings of others. The people in the Capitol do not conserve. They do not say…

The revolution from printed word and drawings, to photography completely changed the way a story could be told. Our visual system evolved to process images quickly, whereas text, which only appeared a few thousand years ago, translates concrete information into abstract markings, which removed context , and requires our visual system to scan each individual characters, one at a time, recognize them, and piece them together into words, then sentences, and so on . Although, written word and…

fiction. In her review of the book, Margaret Atwood compares the work to George Orwell’s 1949 novel 1984, saying that “in the latter half of the 20th century, two visionary books cast their shadows over our futures.” (Atwood.) Again, social critic Neil Postman noted the difference between two worlds of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World in the preface of his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to…

both our world and the World state surround ourselves with the consumption of technology. Postman suggests, “I don’t think any of us can do much about the rapid growth of new technology, a new technology helps fuel the economy, and any discussion on slowing its growth has to take account of economic consequences. However it is possible for us to learn how to control our own uses of technology” (Neil Postman). Much similar to the World State, our economy thrives off the use of technology. Without…

Communication is a vital necessity in establishing, maintaining and strengthening interpersonal relationships. Technology has brought the world of communication from composing a letter to be conveyed via the horseback mail transporter of the 1800 Pony Express to every individual’s fingertips via smart devices and social media platforms. Within today’s milieu, we can send communications from any location instantly to anyone, anywhere, thus empowering relationships to be decidedly affected. This…

A Shift of Focus Through Televised Politics and Political Presence on Social Media Purpose The topic of discussion will be the changes in America’s political realm caused by the changes in technology. Specifically, this paper will examine the effects of television impact of the election process and political processes and how the Internet, specially the emergence of social media, has aided the changes to the political system. It will examine the change of focus in American political campaigns…

In the passage, Neil Postman contrasts George Orwell's vision of the future from the novel 1984 with that of Aldous Huxley's in the novel Brave New World. In 1984, Orwell warns that we will be “overcome by an externally imposed oppression”, whereas Huxley’s vision is that no external force is required to deprive people of their autonomy because we will come to love oppression, “to adore the technologies that undo their (human) capacities to think”. Huxley’s assertion of modern society is more…

Connecting with the reader on how serious this issue is, Golway quotes writer Neil Postman that “America is amusing itself to death” (526). The vivid imagery of this quote connects the technique of pathos Golway uses in describing the disturbing popularity of American Idol. The mention of Postman’s quote evokes a feeling of uneasiness…

“Order in the Classroom” was written by Neil Postman, a professor of communication arts a sciences at New York University. The work was originally published in 1979. This article goes in depth into the education system; its flaws, and its strengths, and what we need to fix about it. There were many proposed reforms and solutions that could work, and others that would not. Some of these reforms include restructuring schools, changing the economic status of students, giving kids a “pre-education”…

I once heard the two authors compared in the following way: “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who would want to read one” (Neil Postman). I share fears far more similar to Huxley’s, especially as I see his “ideal” dystopia unfolding in the world around me. Huxley warned of a future filled with endless pleasure, endless distraction, and as I see it this future has been developing…