Amusing Ourselves to Death: The Problem with Entertainment

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Recommended: The influence of media in modern society

In "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" the author Neil, Postman elaborates his ideas of television and other types of media being related culture and society. The book was written in 1985 in the 20th century when many of the technologies we have today did not exist. At the time Postman suggests that American culture, which was symbolized by Las Vegas, was "entirely devoted to the idea of entertainment (Postman, 268)." Specifically the biggest concern about entertainment was a person's appearance. Which still remains true in today's 21st century. In today's television we are still very concerned with appearance even when it comes to doing more important television like the news. In the Introduction Neil Postman's son ask's the question "Can such a book possibly have relevance to you and The World of 2006 and beyond? (Postman 72)" because he feels that now we live in a world with so many other technologies than the primary focus in the book, which is television. However, I feel that many concepts in this book can be applied to the new era of television today. A very big statement that Neil Postman makes in his book is that "The problem is not that television presents us with entertaining subject matter, but that all subject matter is presented as entertaining, which is another issue altogether (Postman 1551). The point of the book is not to attack television itself, but to evaluate what is coming out of it because it has become a method of communication. I am going to discuss how the content on television is being presented, the problem with televisions main concern with entertainment, and the reflection mass media has on politics, society, and culture.

One important statement the Postman m...

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...not reality television, game shows, or the scripted dramas we have of today, it was the important programs like news and educational programs that we are pushing entertainment into. WIth our most important issues like politics and worldly events we should not let entertainment cloud how we are delivering and portraying information. In “Amusing ourselves to death” Postman describes a “peek-a-boo” world, where where now this event, now that, pops into view for a moment, then vanishes again (Postman 1433).” When he is comparing our world to the children's game, it is true. We are constantly looking for something to entertain us. Just like a game of “peek-a Boo” the media around us seeks to endlessly entertain.

Work Cited

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age Of Show Business. New York, NY: Penguin, 1985. (125-132). Print.

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