Amusing In Itself

After purchasing the book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, from Amazon.com and opening the neat little package placed at my doorstep, I silently wondered to myself how this book with one of the brightest and most visually entertaining covers I’ve seen outside of the realm of children’s literature was supposed to teach me the dangers of flashy advertising and lord knows what else. It seemed to me that I had received yet another assignment full of mangled logic, stretched connections, and rash generalizations, attacking the medium I’ve come to adore – television, of course.

After leaving this nugget of literature called “the most prophetic, thoughtful, necessary, and entertaining book about the media” strewn somewhere in my room to collect dust for a healthy period of time, it seemed prudent to mosey through this “piece of work”. As it turns out, Amusing Ourselves to Death is not riddled with false arguments. On the contrary, Neil Postman’s very distinct method of introducing the subject, laying out the information, making inferences based on said information and then deliberating in an unbiased fashion is what makes this book so readable to me. He relies on solid information and facts to make his conclusions and connections. Postman uses relatively little opinion. He may illustrate an idea by comparing it to the words of a famous historian or physicist, but then he also backs it up with several strong inferences and/or facts. For instance, Postman asserts the idea that photographs are snippets of time or ideas that need no introduction or explanation, because everything needed to explain them is there in the photograph (p. 73). He then goes on to explain his assertion, quoting Susan Sontag, who says, “All borders…seem arbitrary. Anything can be separated, can be made discontinuous, from anything else: All that is necessary is to frame the subject differently.” Postman then explains her quote and, assuming that this idea has been laid as a brick in the wall against entertainment without reason, moves on to build on the foundation of his argument, which is, I suppose, the mortar to seal the next brick to this one.

Some of the literary weapons that Postman has in his considerable rhetorical arsenal are simile and metaphor. The phrases, “On these shows, the preacher is tops. God comes out as second banana” (pg. 117), describing the world from the early 20th century on as a “peek-a-boo world”, and “But this was exposition’s nightingale song, most brilliant and sweet as the singer nears death” (both pg. 77), are fantastic examples of metaphor and simile. However neat these sentences are, it’s really the use that they’re put to that make them so powerful. In the first, Postman explains how televangelism actually against the second commandment before hand and sums it up with this quote. The next describing the 20th century world (namely the USA) as a “peek-a-boo world”, titles chapter five, and resounds with a sharp, "*clang*" in your mind after you read it. The last phrase speaks of how, just before the age of telegraphy and photography, the literary exploded with prose “delighting the ear and eye”, which signified the end of the typographic age. These quotes, especially number one and number two, are of extreme rhetorical importance to Postman’s book. They not only add strength to his rhetorical arguments, but also variety to a book that is based on fact without much expression.

After reading this book completely, I come back to my title and utter a small chuckle; would a casual observer even consider this book in this day in age without such a cover? While this book has been immensely informative and has persuaded me to look at television with a cautious eye, it has also shown me that entertainment shouldn’t be my only priority in life. Had I not read this book, I probably would’ve lived my life according to my own idea of what is entertaining. Postman has shown me that fun and entertainment aren’t the most important things in the world; that other things can make a happy person. It’s a badge of how filled with entertainment my previous years have been that I don’t know exactly what those things are. One thing is for sure though; I will never look to televised news for information again.

Amusing Ourselves to Death Analysis

When I first started to read Amusing Ourselves to Death I wondered just how much of an influence the time difference from when the book was written to now would have on how the book and its contents applied to today's society. I was extremely surprised to discover the context and time period in which this book was written is still applicable to today's society. This book has, for the most part, accurately depicted the reasons for the decline of society as a whole.

In this book Neil Postman argues the age of show business, media, television, etc. have had a negative impact on society and their discourse and as a result has led to the decline of our culture as a whole. Within the pages he presents arguments, facts, statistics, and quotes all in a clear, concise and logical manner that clearly shows the use of logos in his writing but still allows the reader to quietly ponder his arguments without being overwhelmed.

You can see such an example of logos in this passage when he states, "The average length of a shot on network television in only 3.5 seconds, so that the eyes never rests...Moreover, television offers viewers a variety of subject matter, requires minimal skills to comprehend it, and is largely aimed at emotional gratification...American television, in other words, is devoted entirely to supplying its audience with entertainment (page 86)."

While the use of logos is rampant throughout the entire book other methods of rhetoric are also used. The use of similes and metaphors are very strong in statements such as, "And our languages are our media. Our media are our metaphors, Our metaphors create the content of our culture (page 15)." Neil Postman also uses causal analysis which examines the relationships between events or conditions and their consequences and can be seen in statements such as, "Telegraphy also made public discourse essentially incoherent. It brought into being a world of broken time and broken attention. The principal strength of the telegraph was its capacity to move information, not collect it, explain it or analyze it. In this respect, telegraphy was the exact opposite of typography (page 69)." He also uses antimetabole which is the reversing the order of repeated words or phrases to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast in statements such as, "The danger is not that religion has become the content of television shows but that television shows may become the content of religion (page 124)."

I believe this book, though written in 1985, still applies to our society today and that most of the arguments presented are valid in claims such as, "We Americans seem to know everything about the last twenty-four hours but very little of the last sixty centuries or the last sixty years." While I do not feel all of the arguments made apply to us in our world today I do believe his last statement is the most accurate and perhaps the most insightful into what our society today has become when he says, "It was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking (page 163)."

Huxleyan Warning

More than two decades ago, an author foretold of a country that was slowly rotting away in front of hundreds of pixels that presented the attractive images that kept them coming back for more nonsense. Neil Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death and brought to the public’s attention (or at least those who chose to read his book (who commonly weren't the people who needed to hear Postman’s warning)) that television has become the central point for our culture's information. And with so much influence over the many minds of the huge country of the United States of America, Postman sadly informed us that we were only being fed garbage. Poisonous, radioactive garbage at that, which passes on from each contaminated generation to the next. With his thorough analyzation of the past and what was currently taking place in the country, Postman wrote this admonitory novel. And with his unique writing style and numerous rhetorical devices, Postman created a novel that could possibly inform and protect people from a "Huxleyan" future, and ending.

Outstanding relevance plays a key role in the validity of Postman’s argumentative warning (outstanding because of when it was written). A lot has changed in America’s technological culture during the 22 years between now and the time that Postman wrote his prophecy. Logically, one would think that this time difference would cause the argument to lose accuracy and thus become irrelevant in comparison to more current information and arguments. Yet Postman has made it clear and obvious that "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it" (or that if you study history and write a book you may be able to save a country or something along those lines). Postman understood how humans and culture reacted to technologies of the past and thus made a conclusion about what could be expected of of the future. This is how the book has kept it’s relevance until today. He may not address iPods and the advanced models of computers that are all to common these days – as well as the TV programs that are actually on the air – yet Postman has studied the psychology behind the minds in front of technology and with this information he was able to sustain a relevant argument that targets something larger than a specific model of technology. Postman has studied not only what television presents but also how television presents it and how television functions as the core for information in America. Yet more importantly, as I mentioned, he has scrutinized the aspects of the past and of matters other than television to truly argue why television has become so hazardous. With his overall perspective on the matter, Postman made the subject of television and it’s perilous effects a possible argument that would carry on through the years. Now all the relevant and exponentially demanding matter needed was an author with a persuasive writing style – and maybe some rhetorical devices.

Postman has a natural way of speaking with his audience and not at them. He informs his readers respectively and intelligently, never stooping down from his level yet never biting (too hard) at the fragile reader. With his writing full of antitheistic sentences supported by italics, he makes his point clear. The writing style supports itself yet is given a stronger foundation by the various sources and quotes within the novel. His included statistics and facts form the backbone of a logos environment and tend to only strike down the naïve thoughts that were once thought of about an overlooked matter. All of this and more create a formula for persuasion. Thus with a relevant subject and a solid, persuasive book in hand, Neil Postman brought to America’s attention what Huxley feared. I was no one to stand against this assault of persuasion and I agree with Postman about what he proposes overall.

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.

Daniel's Analytical Remarks on the Works of Neil Postman

AKA A Review of Amusing Ourselves To Death by Daniel S.

"...short, to the point..." I believe is how Mrs. Klassen described the book in the letter that she wrote to us all, and I could not agree with her more. And not only do I agree with Mrs. Klassen, I agree with Mr. Postman's well constructed arguments. Not only has he composed an eloquent series of expostulations, he has backed every single one of them with citations and references that further prove his point. In the span of 163 pages he has compiled enough resources to prove not only that we are "Amusing ourselves to death," but that we are doing it in such a way that when we "die" we won't even care, but rather we will be amused that the very thing that keeps us entertained is what has killed us. Postman's writing not only convinced me that television will not only "bite that hand that feeds it (as they say)," but it will eventually be the death of society.

Throughout AOTD Postman is always using rhetorical devices to illustrate his point. He uses logos - the rational principle that governs and develops the universe - more often then pathos - the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion - and ethos - the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period. One of the most notable uses of logos, at least in my mind, is in the chapter of the book entitled "Now... This (p. 99)." Throughout this chapter, Postman uses logos to convince the reader that television news, however important, is quickly and unconsciously deemed unimportant by the fact that immediately following the news article, however serious, there is a commercial break. During that commercial break one's senses are so buffeted by jingles and images that anything happening in the world outside the television, be it politics, religion, business, etc., is not so important as the breath freshening capabilities of the leading brand mouthwash. Postman's arguments in this chapter and his reasoning behind the arguments provides you with evidence that such a thing is true. His example of the Iranian hostage crisis, for example, shows that even something covered by the news for so long hardly provides the viewers with information that is quickly forgotten. His use of anaphora - the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines - when he repeatedly uses the word "or" at the beginning of each sentence boosts his already strong argument by adding more rhetorical devices to his assertion on television news (p. 107).

Postman uses more than just logos and anaphora in his book, and most are used amazingly, but some he could have used better. One that he could have used better is ethos, the fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period. Michelle Kennedy already pointed this out to everyone in her analysis, and I believe that she was right to do so. For me, I had no idea at all who Neil Postman was before reading this book, so when the only mention of his credentials was in the introduction written by Andrew Postman(p. vii - p. xvi) and then later in the book when the author mentions his being a member of the Commission on Theology, Education and the Electric Media of the National Council of the Churches of Christ (p. 124). About the only thing that I did know that would convince me to read the book was Andrew Postman mentioning that Roger Waters wrote an album based on the book (p. viii). However, despite this shortcoming, Postman beautifully explains his arguments and makes clear that he is an incredibly brilliant man, whose books should be read.

Regardless of the fact that ethos could have been used somewhat more consistently, Postman makes exceptional use of other rhetorical devices throughout the book. Postman uses irony - an objectively sardonic style of speech or writing - at the end of chapter six, when he says Irving Berlin should have his song, "There's No Business But Show Business (p. 98)." He also uses paradox - a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth - when he makes the statement, "telegraphy makes relevancy irrelevant (p. 67)." Postman also makes us of an ananaclassic pun - repetition of a word in two different sense - with the affirmation that, "This report is not so much a news story as a story about the news (p. 108)," as he tries to illustrate the idea that if it is not amusing, the people do not care that their leader lies to them.

In conclusion, Postman's writing of AOTD in 1985 is just as important to America today as it was when it was first published. Despite the fact that the Internet was relatively unknown and personal computers were just beginning to appear, Postman's message can easily be applied to the present. With things like Google News and podcasts, a person has almost unlimited access to information, but the amount of information that is relevant and/or retained is either the same as it was in 1985 or it is dropping, as I believe Postman predicted it would. After reading this book, I would like to say I now am completely skeptical of television news; knowing that what is being said is the truth, but always wondering, "IS THIS RELEVANT TO ME? WILL THIS AFFECT MY LIFE? HOW WILL I CHANGE WHAT I DO TODAY BECAUSE OF THIS?" I guess it is a good thing my parents decided to not have cable or satellite television in our house while I was growing up, because I think that at this point, I would be smashing my head against the wall struggling to find the meaning. Postman's work seems to me to be the archetype of arguments against television, being resourceful and relevant. After reading this, I have already made up my mind to read Postman's other works.

Amusing Myself

I decided, as soon as I saw the cover, that I should very quickly to turn it over and see what Amusing Ourselves To Death was really about. As I started to read the summary, I began to think that this book is going to be one of those books that has a profound affect on how you think about life. I began to think about how much we depend on the media for our entertainment. Sometimes the entertainment isn't even funny but we laugh anyways. I began to think about the reason why we laugh, we laugh not because it's funny but because we know we are suppose to. Isn't that sad?

I found myself thinking "Is the Now this... effect really being used in the news?" and " Is politics really turning into a shameless media circus?". I think questions like these were what inspired Neil Postman to write this book. He knew that deep down every person who watched political debates was really thinking " Is that really what this man, who is running for office, is thinking or is that what he was told to say?" His analysis of the American culture was dead-on correct. We are a media nation and we will always will be because no one knows how to "use" a television correctly.

The arguement over media and public discorse was aided by the use of quotes from well known individuals. I believe this was the strongest rhetorical device used in this book. Two great individuals for the past that Neil used in his writings were Aristotle and Thomas Paine. The use of quotes by these two people made me belive in Neil's purpose that much more because they are from a time of no electronics. They only had the simplist media, the newspaper;if they were lucky enough to have that. Aristotle used science to prove things, he didn't go on facts. For instance, he thought that men had more teeth that women but in reality we all know that men and women have the same amount of teeth. In the days of Aristotle, he didn't have a Discovery Channel to turn on so he came up with this assumption all by himself, you don't need anything to help you think. Postman's use of quotes from all generations made him more reliable and his arguement go more in his favor.

The another rhetorical device that really stood out for me was hysteron proteron because alot of this book was about what was going to happen in the future because of what is happening now. For example, Postman's whole book is about life in the future and what it will be like if we don't stop depending on the media now. The quote in the book about people laughing and why they had stopped thinking is a perfect example of this. People have stopped thinking; purely because they think it's easier. What I am basically saying is that you can sit in front of the t.v. all day and not think about a single thing.

I however have proceeded to find another fantastic rhetorical device, hypophora. Hypophora is when you ask a question then answer it yourself.The whole book is basically a hypophora.The question was "Is the media going to be too much to handle?" and his end answer was "Yes." I agree with him.

In conclusion, I never thought I would actually like learning about the media and how it is effecting us but this book has peaked my interest. Neil's writing style makes me want to read more of his books! He is very openionated and very clear about what he believes. My favorite part of his style is that he like to include quotes and passages. I believe reading Amusing Ourselves To Death will really help me make better decisions in the future about whether I will trust the newsman and if the Seaseme Street is really an educational tool.

Amusing Ourselves to Death Analysis

Postman leaves me with the impression that he believes people that use television as entertainment will not become as educated as those interacting with books and the written word. It is very obvious that Postman gives greater value to the written word as opposed to the spoken word. He wrote that, “In the academic world, the published word is investigated with greater prestige and authenticity than the spoken word.” (Page 21) He appears to be on his soap box giving a lengthy speech about something that he is completely passionate about, even when the people that most need to hear this probably will not read it.

I found it ironic that Postman used names to capture attention just as news reporters do. All summer long, news reporters have mentioned big stories involving celebrity tragedies such as Paris Hilton and now Lindsay Lohan. Reporters do this to get us to watch the news. How different is that from Postman’s use of famous author’s words? It was hard for me to be persuaded by him in the beginning when he used the same kinds of techniques he criticized others of using.

For being written in 1985, Postman had our society nailed. Like he said on page 68, “For most of us, news of the weather will sometimes have such consequences...” Most of us watch the news in the morning just to get a sense of what the day’s weather will be like, and how it will affect us. By watching the news it’s like we are only reading the headlines in the newspaper rather than being in a discussion of depth and hearing all of the details.

By the time I got to the end of the book, I believed Postman’s ultimate prediction of amusing ourselves to death. He made a really strong prediction for the future which surprised me because this was written around 22 years ago. While not all people are obsessed by entertainment, this could come true. His writing has caught me in the middle between denial and the truth. I’m in denial because I don’t want to be associated with the type of people who spend their time focused on entertainment and technology, but the truth is I do enjoy technology and entertainment. I believe that if we all aren’t careful, we will be obsessed with entertainment and technology because now it is even incorporated in schools. In our high school there are TV’s and computers in almost every classroom, and there are a couple of classrooms filled with computers.