How Amusing...

I just recently finished a quite “amusing” book by Neil Postman. Amusing Ourselves to Death really made me think about the effects of electronic media on today’s society. Published back in 1985, it comes as a surprise to me how relevant Postman’s information still is today. In fact, it is slowly becoming more and more relevant as time progresses.

The main focus of this book is television, which currently just so happens to be our main source of media. Throughout this book, Postman implies that we slowly being overtaken by the massive amounts of media present in today’s society. Although Postman does support his beliefs, I cannot say that I agree with all of them. Postman always has a pessimistic outlook on every topic he discusses. For example, toward the end of the book in chapter ten, Postman states that, “At the same time, ‘Sesame Street’ relieved them of the responsibility of teaching their pre-school children how to read – no small matter in a culture where children are apt to be considered a nuisance.” It is safe to say that many people would not agree with statements like this causing this book to be, at times, quite controversial.

In the beginning of the second chapter, Postman talks about how we are undergoing a media-metaphor shift in America and that most of what we are taking in is nonsense. Now, I do not know if I totally agree with this statement, but I thought it was quite meaningful and powerful to say the least. This book definitely backs up his beliefs about our media shift. Every chapter has at least one reason why he believes the media is taking us over.

Today's media landscape consists of anything ranging from television to the internet to newspapers. Media is everywhere – like it or not. Sometimes we find ourselves multi-tasking often with different forms of media. For example, anyone could be listening to their iPod while reading the newspaper or a magazine. With all this held true, it’s time to discuss the major media outlet in further depth – the television. I agree with postman that the television is our main media source and that it can sometimes be quite overwhelming to say the least. In an article about the effects of television on today’s society, the first statement took me by surprise.

Overall, this book is an entertaining read. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for some insight on the media effects on today’s society. Although you will not finish displeased, you may find yourself disagreeing (or maybe even agreeing) with Neil Postman.