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Thread: Funny controversial things
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10-10-12, 11:26 PM #421
Re: Funny controversial things
And.....now having read the summary (to which I think all should, so here it is) I am ordering a copy:
Postman distinguishes the Orwellian vision of the future, in which totalitarian governments seize individual rights, from that offered by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, where people medicate themselves into bliss, thereby voluntarily sacrificing their rights. Drawing an analogy with the latter scenario, Postman sees television's entertainment value as a present-day "soma", by means of which the consumers' rights are exchanged for entertainment. (Note that there is no contradiction between an intentional "Orwellian" conspiracy using "Huxleyan" means)
The essential premise of the book, which Postman extends to the rest of his argument(s), is that "form excludes the content," that is, a particular medium can only sustain a particular level of ideas. Thus Rational argument, integral to print typography, is militated against by the medium of television for the aforesaid reason. Owing to this shortcoming, politics and religion are diluted, and "news of the day" becomes a packaged commodity. Television de-emphasises the quality of information in favour of satisfying the far-reaching needs of entertainment, by which information is encumbered and to which it is subordinate.
Postman asserts the presentation of television news is a form of entertainment programming; arguing inclusion of theme music, the interruption of commercials, and "talking hairdos" bear witness that televised news cannot readily be taken seriously. Postman further examines the differences between written speech, which he argues reached its prime in the early to mid-nineteenth century, and the forms of televisual communication, which rely mostly on visual images to "sell" lifestyles. He argues that, owing to this change in public discourse, politics has ceased to be about a candidate's ideas and solutions, but whether he comes across favorably on television. Television, he notes, has introduced the phrase "now this", which implies a complete absence of connection between the separate topics the phrase ostensibly connects. Larry Gonick used this phrase to conclude his Cartoon Guide to (Non)Communication, instead of the traditional "the end".
Postman refers to the inability to act upon much of the so-called information from televised sources as the Information-action ratio.
Drawing on the ideas of media scholar Marshall McLuhan — altering McLuhan's aphorism "the medium is the message", to "the medium is the metaphor" — he describes how oral, literate, and televisual cultures radically differ in the processing and prioritization of information; he argues that each medium is appropriate for a different kind of knowledge. The faculties requisite for rational inquiry are simply weakened by televised viewing. Accordingly, reading, a prime example cited by Postman, exacts intense intellectual involvement, at once interactive and dialectical; whereas television only requires passive involvement. Moreover, as television is programmed according to ratings, its content is determined by commercial feasibility, not critical acumen. Television in its present state, he says, does not satisfy the conditions for honest intellectual involvement and rational argument.
He also repeatedly states that the eighteenth century, being the Age of Reason, was the pinnacle for rational argument. Only in the printed word, he states, could complicated truths be rationally conveyed. Postman gives a striking example: The first fifteen U.S. presidents could probably have walked down the street without being recognized by the average citizen, yet all these men would have been quickly known by their written words. However, the reverse is true today. The names of presidents or even famous preachers, lawyers, and scientists call up visual images, typically television images, but few, if any, of their words come to mind. The few that do almost exclusively consist of carefully chosen soundbites.SmokenScion liked this post
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10-11-12, 11:13 AM #422
Re: Funny controversial things
Funny you should mention that. When I wiki'd that page up yesterday, the first thing I noticed is that the cover on my copy is different.
One thing that impressed me was that he didn't pick on crappy TV; a core example is a highly regarded PBS educational series.
Media has moved on from the mid-80s. Networks (and computing) have changed the landscape somewhat. Postman followed right along with it. Still, his central idea in "Amusing..." - that the medium itself puts limits on what we can do with it or expect from it, and those limits may not be obvious - is completely relevant today. These web-forums are as good an example as any.
:)
I found the list of "See Also" on that wiki page to be an odd assortment (which I suppose, if we embrace the lesson, is a function not just of who is editing the page, but also of how wikis themselves work). For whatever reason, "Infinite Jest" made the list... and that reminded me...
that I still miss David Foster Wallace.
I recommend DFW's essays and non-fiction as highly as Postman's. They're a different sort of great (less academic-y), and much easier going.
Cheers,
AetheLove
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10-11-12, 11:21 AM #423
Re: Funny controversial things
Cool....and not to derail White's homage to the controversial and (audience willing) humorous...
http://www.theonion.com/articles/nic...9633/?ref=auto
Director: Kevin Bacon?
Co-Starring: Mia Hamm?Last edited by Alundil; 10-11-12 at 11:24 AM.
DJ Ms. White liked this post
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