Amusing Ourselves to Death review

Before I started reading Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death I believed that I already had a lucid understanding of what the book was about. But while reading, I came to realize that Neil Postman’s arguments were much more in depth and constructed better than I had ever anticipated.

Postman plainly states on page 16 that “It is my intention in this book to show that a great media metaphor shift has taken place in America, with the result that the content of much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense.” His intentions stayed true throughout the book. He used many diverse metaphors and similes, so that every person can relate to or understand at least one. My personal favorite metaphor occurs early in the book on page five. Postman explains how the Japanese, with their well built cars, have to compete with the exteriors of American cars, even though they are generally built better. This is a perfect metaphor for today’s modern society. The general public likes to watch people on TV and in movies that are appealing to the eye. He also mentions throughout the book how the news isn’t really about enlightening information anymore. The news is commonly focused around those who entertain us and their flaws.

Later on in the book, Postman goes on to explain how in the late 18th century and early 19th century telegraphy and photography have created a “peek-a-boo” world, where things pop into milieu for moments and then disappear from our lives completely. He also explains thoroughly about how you cannot take a picture of nature or the sea, only a fragment of the vast world outside. Pictures then went on to become a focal point of media frenzy. Pictures were used in newspapers and magazines to aid the reader while they read articles about uninformative news and stories.

In the 10th chapter, Postman chooses to talk about how the TV. “educates” us with programs such as sesame street. He goes into detail telling the reader about how we learn through entertainment, such as song and dance. He explains to us how students prefer to learn from the television because it is not biased and cannot judge what we say or do. Because of this fact, “educational” television is being incorporated into the average classroom to help students learn. Even though we can learn through reading (such as this book), it is much simpler for the teacher to place the TV to the right channel and expect their students to learn the exact same curriculum.

In conclusion, I believe that Neil Postman has made many convincing arguments toward technology and how it is becoming America’s culture. Even though I know that I will keep on watching television and using my cell phone, my mind will wander back to this book and I will consider ways to decrease my daily impact of technology. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I will try to keep reading more of Neil Postman’s other works of literature.