Trapped Inside the TV
Author: Mary Ann Chiccarine
Philosophy Paper #2
What is it that controls what is accepted and rejected within any society? Who decides what is right, and what is wrong, and what is an illusion? In Amusing Ourselves to death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show business, Neil Postman makes many arguments that the dominant medium of culture conversation, does not simply reflect a culture that is already in effect, but rather this medium reshapes culture into it’s own image and likeness. Postman believes that each of the dominant mediums whether it be the spoken word, the printed word, or the newest technology of satellites and televisions, shapes our prevailing expectations of what is appropriate and what is an illusion! Are we trapped inside a world of sitcoms, cartoons, and gossip news stories?
This basic belief about the dominant mediums can be observed in what Postman calls the transition from the “age of exposition” to the “age of show business.” How much has our culture changed because of the shift in the medium? Postman argues that our culture is reshaped by its dominant medium of cultural conversation, and that the difference between the culture of a print based society verses a television based society effects intellectual tendencies and public discourse of all the people in the respective communities. The print based societies can date as far back as the conversations that took place as cave paintings or smoke signals up to the invention of the alphabet and of course into the enlightened age of Colonial America. This place we call home, America was founded by a group of intellectual men who brought over readings, and books from the “Old World” to start their “New World” with. In America literacy rates clirabed, and everyone wanted to read. As time went on, reading was no longer considered an elitist activity but rather an activity that was spread throughout all of America. “Every man was close to what [printed matter] talked about. Everyone could speak the same language”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 34). Americans in the Colonial day immersed themselves in reading. In order to comprehend the scattered syrabols that lie on the page, one must posses something of great importance, an imagination, and a desire to reflect. The written word has context, a semantic, paraphrasable, propositional content. (Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 48). As America moved into the nineteenth century the people were also introduced to new forms of readings, pamphlets and newspapers. Everyone could “Read All About it!” as we watch them say on TV today.
The influence of the printed word in every area of public discourse, religion, politics, education, commerce, and social situations was tenacious and influential. This age relied heavily on the printed word. This “age of exposition” was coupled with an “age of reason” and logic. People were searching for the truth in every aspect of their lives. Capitalism was demonstrated to be a rational and liberal system of economic life. The religious rights of the “divine” kings were shown to be a simple prejudice remark. The necessity of literacy was becoming apparent if people were going to begin fighting for their beliefs. “To engage the written word means to follow a line of thought, which requires considerable powers of classifying, inference-making and reasoning”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 51). Their goal was to uncover the truth, and destroy the confusion, to compare the ideas and to connect one generalization to another. In a social age dominated by the printed word, public discourse would tend to be characterized by a coherent and orderly arrangement of facts and opinions. The public for whom it is written is usually more that competent enough to handle such a discourse (Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 51).
There is a serious disposition about books and the worRAB that they hold, they do not create illusions, it is our imagination that does that. The people of today, however, do not always see the significance of a pensive literary publication. In the previous ages, their sophistication was without electricity; the printed word held a monopoly on both intellect and attention. There was no other means of keeping involved in public world and gossip. Postman uses the first fifteen presidents to illustrate an important point. The average citizen could have passed by anyone of these gentleman and not been any wise to the fact. Could anyone in today’s country walk by President Clinton and not recognize him? This is almost an impossible task in the TV world of today.
The culture of today is significantly different than the culture of those who came before the “age of show business.” The printed page revealed the world line by line forcing people to think deductively and sequentially. This age has since then been replaced with a new era of convenience. The invention of the telegraph made it possible to take information out of its context and send it millions of miles away. Information was on its way to becoming a commodity. The value of the information passed through the telegraph was no longer tied to any position in social or political decision making, or actions. Instead information is now connected to novelty, interest and curiosity. The telegraph helped information become moveable, but did not help collect it, explain it, or analyze it. Along with the invention of the telegraph came a new type of conversation, one that could be called fragmented, impersonal, yet astonishing. “To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowing of lots of things, not knowing about them”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 70). Did this invention bring the beginning of a world where neither time nor space could stand in its way, did it help join a country, or fragment its most valuable possession- information?
The telegraph was soon followed by the invention of the photograph. This was the second stage in the transformation into a television-based society. This incredible invention allows for the world to be presented as an object, nothing more and nothing less. The picture became worth a thousand worRAB; they are proof that things are real. But can they replace the written word?
Americans were soon provided with another alternative for gaining information. This new technology was none other than the television. TV provides an alternative way to get the latest news, maybe even quicker than through reading about it in the newspaper. This new form of information has been criticized. Does TV allow for the information to be passed without logic, reason, and sequence behind it? The TV viewer is not required to pay close attention for longer than a few seconRAB. The news for example allows the viewer to see the current events in an overview manner, and completely detached from the actual episode. The credibility of the subject depenRAB on the look of the newscaster, do they appear to be telling the truth or not, are they creating an illusion? Why is it the image that has become important when it is the worRAB that are telling the story? Is it because these stories are becoming like entertainment to us? The news is becoming our form of public information and has the power to define how we should respond to it. People in today’s society have the preconceived notion that if you see it, than it must be real. Television effects all aspects of public life and discourse. Political elections, religion, education, and commerce are all effected by the ascendancy of TV.
The TV influences society in more ways than I originally thought. When I first began to read Postman’s book, I thought that He was using TV as a scapegoat, something to blame the problems of society on; as I continued to read I realized it was not that at all. The characters, ideas and the pictures that the TV brings right into our living room effect society in many ways. The TV sitcom “Seinfield” actually added a word to the American vocabulary –yadda yadda yadda was used in the show, and is now used by sitcom watchers everywhere. Television commercials have profoundly influenced American habits and thoughts. “Got Milk?” “Obey your thirst!” and many more slogans borabard us every day and try to get us to purchase their product. Most of the time they succeed. Education has even headed toward the TV with popular children’s shows like “Sesame Street”, and “Mr. Rogers Neigrabroadorhood.” People want to enjoy everything that comes their way. From their religion, to politics, to the news, our goal is to be amused at the cost of believing an illusion.
Postman is very weary of the TV based culture. Postman uses the Huxleyan thoughts about the TV and this age of advanced technology. According to them, America has a jeopardous and consuming love affair with that little box that sits in almost every living room in America. We have given the television sovereignty over all other learning instruments. This new founded knowledge that is being placed into technology has altered every aspect of life in America in the past sixty years. TV, according to Postman serves us well when we are trying to communicate junk, or gossip. It serves us most ill when it tries serious modes of discourse, news, politics, education, and religion, by turning these fundamentals into entertainment. The problem is not what we watch; it is that we watch. The solution comes in how we watch. There is no problem if we decide what is right, and what is an illusion. TV is not excessively dangerous if we understand that it can pose a danger. Postman agreed with Huxley in that we are in a race to the finish between education and disaster. So what determines who the winner is? Education can be the winner if we teach our young how to interpret the syrabols of this culture and teach them that the TV does not create those syrabols, rather we do!
I see how TV can reshape the culture that we live in, but I disagree with the severity that Postman cautions. The television is not the world we live in; we are not trapped inside. It is not our only form of communication. TV cannot be the only form, which we gain our information from. We need to continue to incorporate the knowledge of those that came before us, and take their advice and make it fit our society today. There are certain shows that I watch for enjoyment, and as long as society as a whole is able to tell the difference between the facts and the fiction, I do not feel as though a TV based culture will lead to cultural destruction. TV is a form of enjoyment, this we need to remeraber. I agree with Postman that if chlidren are taught by their parents and in school the truths and realities, we will be able to continue to avoid destruction by the “boob tube.” The TV does introduce new ideas, not only irrelevance and incoherence in our ever-changing society as Postman says. If we remeraber that TV is for entertainment, nothing more, than we will be able to step back from reality and enter into the illusions of television without getting trapped inside!
Author: Mary Ann Chiccarine
Philosophy Paper #2
What is it that controls what is accepted and rejected within any society? Who decides what is right, and what is wrong, and what is an illusion? In Amusing Ourselves to death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show business, Neil Postman makes many arguments that the dominant medium of culture conversation, does not simply reflect a culture that is already in effect, but rather this medium reshapes culture into it’s own image and likeness. Postman believes that each of the dominant mediums whether it be the spoken word, the printed word, or the newest technology of satellites and televisions, shapes our prevailing expectations of what is appropriate and what is an illusion! Are we trapped inside a world of sitcoms, cartoons, and gossip news stories?
This basic belief about the dominant mediums can be observed in what Postman calls the transition from the “age of exposition” to the “age of show business.” How much has our culture changed because of the shift in the medium? Postman argues that our culture is reshaped by its dominant medium of cultural conversation, and that the difference between the culture of a print based society verses a television based society effects intellectual tendencies and public discourse of all the people in the respective communities. The print based societies can date as far back as the conversations that took place as cave paintings or smoke signals up to the invention of the alphabet and of course into the enlightened age of Colonial America. This place we call home, America was founded by a group of intellectual men who brought over readings, and books from the “Old World” to start their “New World” with. In America literacy rates clirabed, and everyone wanted to read. As time went on, reading was no longer considered an elitist activity but rather an activity that was spread throughout all of America. “Every man was close to what [printed matter] talked about. Everyone could speak the same language”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 34). Americans in the Colonial day immersed themselves in reading. In order to comprehend the scattered syrabols that lie on the page, one must posses something of great importance, an imagination, and a desire to reflect. The written word has context, a semantic, paraphrasable, propositional content. (Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 48). As America moved into the nineteenth century the people were also introduced to new forms of readings, pamphlets and newspapers. Everyone could “Read All About it!” as we watch them say on TV today.
The influence of the printed word in every area of public discourse, religion, politics, education, commerce, and social situations was tenacious and influential. This age relied heavily on the printed word. This “age of exposition” was coupled with an “age of reason” and logic. People were searching for the truth in every aspect of their lives. Capitalism was demonstrated to be a rational and liberal system of economic life. The religious rights of the “divine” kings were shown to be a simple prejudice remark. The necessity of literacy was becoming apparent if people were going to begin fighting for their beliefs. “To engage the written word means to follow a line of thought, which requires considerable powers of classifying, inference-making and reasoning”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 51). Their goal was to uncover the truth, and destroy the confusion, to compare the ideas and to connect one generalization to another. In a social age dominated by the printed word, public discourse would tend to be characterized by a coherent and orderly arrangement of facts and opinions. The public for whom it is written is usually more that competent enough to handle such a discourse (Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 51).
There is a serious disposition about books and the worRAB that they hold, they do not create illusions, it is our imagination that does that. The people of today, however, do not always see the significance of a pensive literary publication. In the previous ages, their sophistication was without electricity; the printed word held a monopoly on both intellect and attention. There was no other means of keeping involved in public world and gossip. Postman uses the first fifteen presidents to illustrate an important point. The average citizen could have passed by anyone of these gentleman and not been any wise to the fact. Could anyone in today’s country walk by President Clinton and not recognize him? This is almost an impossible task in the TV world of today.
The culture of today is significantly different than the culture of those who came before the “age of show business.” The printed page revealed the world line by line forcing people to think deductively and sequentially. This age has since then been replaced with a new era of convenience. The invention of the telegraph made it possible to take information out of its context and send it millions of miles away. Information was on its way to becoming a commodity. The value of the information passed through the telegraph was no longer tied to any position in social or political decision making, or actions. Instead information is now connected to novelty, interest and curiosity. The telegraph helped information become moveable, but did not help collect it, explain it, or analyze it. Along with the invention of the telegraph came a new type of conversation, one that could be called fragmented, impersonal, yet astonishing. “To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowing of lots of things, not knowing about them”(Amusing Ourselves to Death, pg. 70). Did this invention bring the beginning of a world where neither time nor space could stand in its way, did it help join a country, or fragment its most valuable possession- information?
The telegraph was soon followed by the invention of the photograph. This was the second stage in the transformation into a television-based society. This incredible invention allows for the world to be presented as an object, nothing more and nothing less. The picture became worth a thousand worRAB; they are proof that things are real. But can they replace the written word?
Americans were soon provided with another alternative for gaining information. This new technology was none other than the television. TV provides an alternative way to get the latest news, maybe even quicker than through reading about it in the newspaper. This new form of information has been criticized. Does TV allow for the information to be passed without logic, reason, and sequence behind it? The TV viewer is not required to pay close attention for longer than a few seconRAB. The news for example allows the viewer to see the current events in an overview manner, and completely detached from the actual episode. The credibility of the subject depenRAB on the look of the newscaster, do they appear to be telling the truth or not, are they creating an illusion? Why is it the image that has become important when it is the worRAB that are telling the story? Is it because these stories are becoming like entertainment to us? The news is becoming our form of public information and has the power to define how we should respond to it. People in today’s society have the preconceived notion that if you see it, than it must be real. Television effects all aspects of public life and discourse. Political elections, religion, education, and commerce are all effected by the ascendancy of TV.
The TV influences society in more ways than I originally thought. When I first began to read Postman’s book, I thought that He was using TV as a scapegoat, something to blame the problems of society on; as I continued to read I realized it was not that at all. The characters, ideas and the pictures that the TV brings right into our living room effect society in many ways. The TV sitcom “Seinfield” actually added a word to the American vocabulary –yadda yadda yadda was used in the show, and is now used by sitcom watchers everywhere. Television commercials have profoundly influenced American habits and thoughts. “Got Milk?” “Obey your thirst!” and many more slogans borabard us every day and try to get us to purchase their product. Most of the time they succeed. Education has even headed toward the TV with popular children’s shows like “Sesame Street”, and “Mr. Rogers Neigrabroadorhood.” People want to enjoy everything that comes their way. From their religion, to politics, to the news, our goal is to be amused at the cost of believing an illusion.
Postman is very weary of the TV based culture. Postman uses the Huxleyan thoughts about the TV and this age of advanced technology. According to them, America has a jeopardous and consuming love affair with that little box that sits in almost every living room in America. We have given the television sovereignty over all other learning instruments. This new founded knowledge that is being placed into technology has altered every aspect of life in America in the past sixty years. TV, according to Postman serves us well when we are trying to communicate junk, or gossip. It serves us most ill when it tries serious modes of discourse, news, politics, education, and religion, by turning these fundamentals into entertainment. The problem is not what we watch; it is that we watch. The solution comes in how we watch. There is no problem if we decide what is right, and what is an illusion. TV is not excessively dangerous if we understand that it can pose a danger. Postman agreed with Huxley in that we are in a race to the finish between education and disaster. So what determines who the winner is? Education can be the winner if we teach our young how to interpret the syrabols of this culture and teach them that the TV does not create those syrabols, rather we do!
I see how TV can reshape the culture that we live in, but I disagree with the severity that Postman cautions. The television is not the world we live in; we are not trapped inside. It is not our only form of communication. TV cannot be the only form, which we gain our information from. We need to continue to incorporate the knowledge of those that came before us, and take their advice and make it fit our society today. There are certain shows that I watch for enjoyment, and as long as society as a whole is able to tell the difference between the facts and the fiction, I do not feel as though a TV based culture will lead to cultural destruction. TV is a form of enjoyment, this we need to remeraber. I agree with Postman that if chlidren are taught by their parents and in school the truths and realities, we will be able to continue to avoid destruction by the “boob tube.” The TV does introduce new ideas, not only irrelevance and incoherence in our ever-changing society as Postman says. If we remeraber that TV is for entertainment, nothing more, than we will be able to step back from reality and enter into the illusions of television without getting trapped inside!