Definitely makes you evaluate your lifestyle

Definitely makes you evaluate your lifestyle  Read Less

Humankind is ruining itself

Humankind is ruining itself  Read Less

The medium in which a society communicates influences how people think about issues. Information is not only provided through ...  Read More

The medium in which a society communicates influences how people think about issues. Information is not only provided through an instrument such as print or television, the delivery method does much to shape how this information is processed and considered. Unfortunately, not many individuals consider how mediums such as oral communication, print communication, and technological communication shape public discourse and impact serious issues. Within his classic book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman offers a wake-up call to readers willing to see how an uncritical embrace of all new technology can weaken rather than strengthen culture.In the opening chapters, author and professor Neil Postman contrasts two versions of a dystopian future. Orwell's 1984 spoke of a bleak society in which thought was controlled by the state and tyranny reigned through oppression. However, Huxley's Brave New World spoke to a rather different scenario altogether. It pointed to a future in which people were willingly kept under control because they failed to see their own imprisonment. They had been so distracted by trivialities and entertainment that distraction from real life served as their chains. It is this second picture that Postman holds up as accurate. He argues that television tends to turn everything into entertainment. While sitcoms and dramatic stories pose no great threat, subjects such as news, politics, religion, and science become trivialized. People are presented with numerous bits of information in rapid fire succession with no great time for reflection, consideration, and proper action. In the end, people learn of many things but about very little.Although dated in its illustrations that are culled from the 1980's society in which it was written, the words of Neil Postman have become almost prophetic. Even before the rise of computers and the internet, the author sees how quickly subjects such as history, philosophy, and religion are disregarded for the ever-present now. Classrooms and church sanctuaries have sought to emulate the style of media screens. Political discourse has more to do with image than content. People will often embrace new ideas not because they are well thought out systems of thought, but because they look appealing as presented by the corporate media. Social norms held for centuries are abandoned in an instant with no thought of consequences. However, this descent into greater and greater triviality does not have to continue. If one understands the way in which a medium changes thought patterns, it can be reversed. Neil Postman's book stands as one enduring work that helps to accomplish just such a goal.(On a final note, as a pastor this book serves as a great help in considering the shape of worship services and church life. Rather than trying to turn Christianity into a second-rate television show, scripture calls for a serious consideration of God's word. This involves thought, reflection, and application on a level vastly different than that required by television screens.)  Read Less