Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death Essay - 1156 Words

Amusing Ourselves to Death; Mediums, Friend or Foe? Electronic media is inferior to print media due to the fact that electronic media can be bias, selective, and evasive for the purpose of entertainment. Electronic media serves as a form of entertainment with a main goal of serving their ratings rather than serving the people. It would seem that Postman would agree with this theory since he describes electronic media as a form of entertainment rather than a reliable source of information and facts in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death. Let’s start by taking a look at the bias side of electronic media. Take for instance the difference between Fox News and CBS. Both are news stations, both are intended to bring us the news, yet the†¦show more content†¦Earlier this week, the FBI officially transferred the Chandra Levy investigation to its Cold Case unit, which historically has handled only the toughest of cases, which have few clues. [Rest of story] RATHER: You may want to keep in mind the case remains officially a â€Å"missing person† case. No crime has been established, no one has been accused by lawmen—of anything, much less formally charged. No one’s been charged with breaking any laws. (Dan Rather and Jim Stewart, CBS Evening News, 7/18/01) While the contrasts between the two are obviously different where one depicts that Condit is the cause of the problem, the other clearly states just the facts. My second point is that Electronic Media tends to become evasive while broadcasting. They tend to focus on points that were based on opinion rather than facts so that they may receive more ratings, in turn create more profit. I once again turn to the same story of Chandra Levy’s disappearance. Although CBS just states the facts, Fox News states opinions in their polls, news article headings, and their complete coverage of the story, while focusing on Mr. Condit (Fox News 7/15/01). Fox News gained high ratings for the Chandra Levy story, only because they fed off of the icon, Gary Condit. Bringing a celebrity into anything makes it more interesting because he or she is more widely known. Now when you have titles such as â€Å"Condit’s Acting Guilty† (Dana Blanton, Fox News 7/07/01), you will haveShow MoreRelatedNeil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death: A Review1566 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿No Longer Fun Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death is a trenchant piece of social commentary about the very nature of society at the time of his writing in the final decades of the 20th century. The book assesses the importance of television in the lives of its viewers, and denotes how that importance itself shapes those lives and, by extension, the surrounding world. The particular time in which this manuscript was published is immensely significant, since it occurred a year after 1984Read More Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death Essay678 Words   |  3 PagesPostmans Amusing Ourselves to Death I have just read Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death. Postman states that the age of typography has been replaced by the age of television. This has changed the way we look at the world and the way we think, which in turn has almost made us less intelligent. Postman speaks his opinions freely, and really gives the reader a new perspective on media, and the effect it has on society. To often we think nothing of what we see and read in the media, but afterRead MoreAnalysis of Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death1648 Words   |  7 Pagessay about television) but rather warning that a society that acquires all (or even nearly all) of its information from television is acquiring that information in a passive way. While such a form of interaction with the world is fine in terms of amusing oneself (as his title indicates), it is harmful in terms of engaging with serious matters. And it is especially harmful when it comes to arenas of life in which communication among people is imperat ive. Among such arenas is the participation inRead MoreAnalysis Of Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves To Death959 Words   |  4 Pages In Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), Postman argues that the information shared with the American populace is shaped by the forms of media that are used. By giving a history of the changing types of American media and the effect that each has on the information given, Postman supports his claim. Postman’s purpose is to prove that media changes the information given to the public in order to call awareness to the validity of our news. Postman writes to an audience who is educatedRead MoreLogos Ethos Pathos1236 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ In Neil Postman’s novel, Amusing Ourselves to Death, he argues that rationality in America has become dictated by television. Through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos, Postman demonstrates that his claim is valid and reliable. These are three forms of persuasion that are used to influence others to agree with a particular point of view. Ethos, or ethical appeal, is used to build an author’s image. Ethos establishes a sense of credibility and good character for the author (Henning). Pathos, orRead More Postman: Rant or Reason? Essay1694 Words   |  7 PagesPostman: Rant or Reason? In his novel, Amusing Ourselves to Death, author Neil Postman describes to the reader, in detail, the immediate and future dangers of television. The arguement starts out in a logical manner, explaining first the differences between todays media-driven society, and yesterdays typographic America. Postman goes on to discuss in the second half of his book the effects of todays media, politics on television, religion on television, and finally televised educationalRead MoreAmusing Ourselves For Death By Neil Postman1475 Words   |  6 PagesIn the second part of Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, the author examines the medium of education in order to exhibit how it has affected and fashioned modern public discourse. Postman uses a two-part argument on the topic of the influence that television has over education. In order to properly demonstrate the authors view and evidence on this subject of discourse, as well as my own, I will explore how television presents e ducation as well as how exactly television has managed toRead More Truth Exposed in Amusing Ourselves to Death Essay1506 Words   |  7 PagesExposed in Amusing Ourselves to Death    Neil Postman is deeply worried about what technology can do to a culture or, more importantly, what technology can undo in a culture.   In the case of television, Postman believes that, by happily surrendering ourselves to it, Americans are losing the ability to conduct and participate in meaningful, rational public discourse and public affairs.   Or, to put it another way, TV is undoing public discourse and, as the title of his book Amusing Ourselves to DeathRead MoreChapters 1 and 2 Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman Essay1006 Words   |  5 PagesSummary Essay of Amusing Ourselves to Death This is a breakdown of Neil Postmans Amusing ourselves to death(1985), which must be written to explain the effects that high volume of emails, text messages, video games, and internet television has on the human race and the way we think. In the first chapter of the book The Medium is the Metaphor Postman (1985) begins his argument that he presents through out the book. Postman (1985) explains how knowledge is no longer gained from print, butRead MoreNeil Postman s Exploration Of This Issue1737 Words   |  7 Pagescausing damage to the people that were raised in the TV era. Neil Postman’s exploration of this issue in his novel written in 1985, Amusing Ourselves to Death, is a crucial hint of the consequences of being immersed in a culture that is driven by television. Even though it has been 20 years since the book was published the influx of internet only makes his novel more and more relevant to today than it was when it was written Postman’s key argument is the comparison of two tremendously different imagined