Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Rhetorical Analogy of Amusing Ourselves To Death

Upon finishing Neil Postman's book, I was oddly aware of how accurate his predictions were. He wrote this in 1985, and the media then was hardly the star crazed embarrassment it is now. He foresaw it snowballing into something much worse. He knew that eventually America would stop searching for the truth and allow themselves to be spoon-fed media modified lies.

As for the validity of his argument, Postman obviously knew of what he spoke but relied heavily on quotes from others. It was as if each of his ideas bloomed from those of another. He prominently used logos, appeal to reason based on logic, which was fitting for his purpose. He also used a lot of deductive reasoning, although he was slightly less general about his topic. His main strategy of persuasion was changing a perception, or changing how Americans perceive the media.

In the beginning I did not think that I was the correct audience for this book. I believed that teenagers don't have much of a direct affect on the media. Then I realized most of what is on television is specifically aimed at young adults. I realized that as the next generation, I and others my age, are exactly the people that need to be reading this book. On the other hand, I don't believe that we were Postman's original target.

I believe that Amusing Ourselves To Death was basically a cause and effect analysis. Postman touched upon the direct affects of the media, and he certainly thoroughly explained the reasons as to how they were happening. Although I disagreed with the argument, Amusing Ourselves To Death was most persuasive and Neil Postman's claim was definitely a valid one. He truly clarified exactly how far the media could take their control of the American mind.

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