Amusing Ourselves To Death
I finished this book over a weekend a few weeks ago. I was enthralled from the first page. The premise is that our society is being ruined from the influence of television. Postman is now deceased. He wrote this in 1986. I purchased this book back in '06 when it was re-released on its 20th anniversary.
I am curious what Postman would have said about the internet and blogging. His son does write an essay to reintroduce the book to us.
I was captivated by chapters on media's (t.v.) on religion. Postman dissected the major players in the televangelist realm (even comparing them with great evangelist from the past)...who did incur much scrutiny in the 80's. Surprisingly Postman seems to have something against Billy Graham, as he quotes Graham in other venues. Would Postman use the words of a television commercial a few years back? This ad had its spokesman say, "With billions of dollars put into this vast global infrastructure (?something like that) all we can find to do with it is go surfing."
Postman uses the juxtaposition of an Orwellian world with a Huxleyian world. He argues that we inhabit a world closer to Huxley. Interestingly enough our cold war enemies are Orwellian...and I would say that beyond the Communist countries, some Muslim countries are probably pretty Orwellian.
Well, that is just to begin my thoughts...more later.
I am curious what Postman would have said about the internet and blogging. His son does write an essay to reintroduce the book to us.
I was captivated by chapters on media's (t.v.) on religion. Postman dissected the major players in the televangelist realm (even comparing them with great evangelist from the past)...who did incur much scrutiny in the 80's. Surprisingly Postman seems to have something against Billy Graham, as he quotes Graham in other venues. Would Postman use the words of a television commercial a few years back? This ad had its spokesman say, "With billions of dollars put into this vast global infrastructure (?something like that) all we can find to do with it is go surfing."
Postman uses the juxtaposition of an Orwellian world with a Huxleyian world. He argues that we inhabit a world closer to Huxley. Interestingly enough our cold war enemies are Orwellian...and I would say that beyond the Communist countries, some Muslim countries are probably pretty Orwellian.
Well, that is just to begin my thoughts...more later.
