Amusing Ourselves to Death

Upon picking up the book I was not excited about what was in my hand. The blaring colors of the cover did nothing to entice or excite my favor. Yet as I was following my mom around the store the introduction by Andrew Postman caught my interest. How Neil Postman’s opinions had affected those around him made me wonder how reading this would affect me. Through his rhetorical strategies Postman helped me to see how much of our lives we allow television to shape.

A strategy that Postman uses thickly is logos. The most apparent use of logos is that the first part of the book is mostly a brief history of the media in America. He gives us this so that we have enough background information to understand and follow his argument. Drawing upon the work of others to support and demonstrate his point is another example of his use of logos. Though not as common or noticeable ethos are also utilized. The most clear use of ethos is that throughout the book Postman constantly uses pronouns like “you,” “us,” or “we.” Examples of this method are on page 100, “…we are presented not only with…” and on page 135, “Most of the rest of us…” These pronouns help to make the reader feel more included and connected to the issue.

Though he wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death in 1985 I found myself realizing how much of what Postman said actually applied to my life. Most of the news I hear about does not directly affect my life other than knowing it for some trivia game or other. That our other sources of information, newspapers and even our education system, are trying to copy the form of our entertainment is a scary thought to behold.

Neil Postman accurately saw that television would be a threat to our culture. Through his convincing argument he captured my attention. Questions that I never thought to ask I have now explored and more are now racing through my head. Postman’s well-fought argument has convinced me that television’s influence over our culture is more than I would have imagined.