As I reread chapter three of Amusing Ourselves to Death the part on how Neil Postman compares how many people bought a book to how many people watch the Superbowl seems to stay with me. Postman refers to Thomas Paine's best selling novel, Common Sense which sold 400,000 copies in a 3,000,000 population which equals 24,000,000 copies sold today. He then goes on to say "The only communication event that could produce such collective attention in today's America is the Superbowl." After this he also compares the admiration the people gave in 1842 towards the arrival of Charles Dickens, famous novelist, to America, to the admiration today's society gives to actors, athletes, and Michael Jackson.
Is this really what society has become? Before, knowing and learning how to read and write was the best thing the world had seen, now its sports and movies. Why do you think society favors television and sports so much more than literature?
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To answer your question, Norma, we should go back to Postman's argument. The medium of the media back then was literature. Being well versed in, say, Shakespeare, was the equivalent today of knowing the lineup of the Miami Heat. In short, you had social credibility, no matter what class you were in, if you had knowledge of books.
ReplyDeleteToday, we have new ways of trading ideas, including the TV and the computer. What you see is what you get. And what you get, mostly, is sports, celebrities, reality shows, and superficial talk about these superficial programs. No longer are ideas such as philosophy or morality the norm in today's media.
Also, since the TV and the computer is something you watch, what you write is not what makes you famous. Your actual appearance is now more important in your mission to becoming well known, and not your words and ideas. That, Norma, is why the books and the ideas in them are not at the forfront of society.
I would say that the reason today's society is infatuated with sports and movies over literature is because literature takes time and effort to get a grasp on it. People have to take the time to read a book and after reading reflect on it to truly enjoy a novel.
ReplyDeleteSports and movies on the other hand are much flashier and easier to absorb. It usually doesn't take much higher thinking to enjoy that kind of entertainment. I believe it's just more of our society's typical laziness.
"And what you get, mostly, is sports, celebrities, reality shows, and superficial talk about these superficial programs." -Kevin.
ReplyDeleteHe is exactly right, and that may also be why we are so intrigued with some celebrities; everyone has their own show.. FOR NO REASON; just to entertain.
But, in my opinion, it has to do more with our laziness. Instead of taking the time and picking up a book, it's easier to find the remote and push the button. To read, you need to concentrate on the words; but to watch T.V., you just turn it on, sit there, and listen. Our society probably thinks that they don't have the time to read. But, is that a real excuse if they're watching T.V. for a few hours each day after work?
But when people watch T.V., they watch only the entertaining things; not the news. Some people blame it on how violent the news can be; you hardly ever see good things, you sometimes only see bad things or celebrities. Can we blame this on our society? Has bad news become more entertaining than the good?
Society has favored television because of our lazyness
ReplyDelete"To read, you need to concentrate [absorb] the words; but to watch T.V., you just turn it on"-BrittanyFattohi.
Brittany; I dont think it could have been said any better.
We give celebrities, actors and yes Michal Jackson, so much attention because we can see them we see their (as many celebrities are) beautiful faces, we aspire to be them. Dont we? (who wouldn't like to be an actor or celebrity and makes millions of dollars?).
Books to many people books are bland and boring. They dont score touch downs. they dont cheat on their wives. They just are there.
Many people dont want to sit and use the focus that is nessecary to read a book they rather just rot their brains spending hours gazing as if in a transfixed state at the television.