Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, published in 1985, is a compelling critique of the influence of mass media and entertainment on modern American culture. Postman argues that the advent of television, and particularly the news programs which it enabled, facilitated a shift from print to image-based communication. Further, he believes that this shift has had a profoundly negative effect on the level of critical thinking in the United States.

Postman suggests that the primary issue with this shift is the way in which television news and entertainment packages their content in a way that is more entertaining than it is intellectually stimulating. By turning public discourse into entertainment through presentation, stories are diluted and made to be consumable. Instead of providing the details and context of an issue, viewers are simply presented with the story’s most entertaining elements, and Postman argues that this encourages viewers to tune out.

Postman compares modern culture with that of George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. He believes that Orwell’s vision of a world in which information is censored and manipulated has been replaced by Huxley’s vision of a world in which information is overwhelmed by entertainment and commercialism. Postman claims that this is the product of the “trivialization of media”, with journalists attempting to package information in a way which will create an emotional response and make it more likely for viewers to continue engaging with the program.

This appearance over substance approach to information is leading to a culture in which superficiality is celebrated over contemplation, with people preferring simple messages to deeper analysis. Postman believes that this has had a profoundly negative effect on the quality of public discourse, with people simply passively consuming information instead of participating in meaningful dialogue.

Postman believes that this trend is unlikely to reverse, and that it could have serious consequences for democracy. By removing the complexity of issues, he believes that people are becoming less engaged in society, and more likely to accept the decisions of leaders without question.

With Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman offers an entertaining yet thought-provoking assessment of the influence of mass media on modern culture. He offers a critical perspective on the effect that television and other forms of entertainment have had on the level of intellectual engagement and public discourse in the United States. His arguments serve as a reminder of the importance of critical thinking and public involvement in a democratic society.