Back
Neil Postman: Amusing ourselves to death (2006, Penguin Books) 4 stars

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985) is a …

Review of 'Amusing Ourselves to Death' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The first half was really good. It is a sort of summary of the intellectual history of reading and literacy of the United States. It tells the story from the Colonial period up until the age of telegraphy and photography (that is, sometime in the middle to the late nineteenth century).

Second half felt kind of just a rehash of the arguments already made in the first part.

I am unconvinced of the examples about how television is not a good medium for education, at least in early or lower-level education. I do not think that education being entertaining is problematic at this level. Of course, for deeper thought, at the level of higher education, you'd have to read books and journal articles, etc.

That part about religion is interesting. Postman says that it is not possible for television to be a sacral space because of the 'peek-a-boo' quality, and the memory of people of the 'peek-a-boo'-ness or the 'now-this'-ness of television. But what if it is possible? A new version of sacrality, a new techno-religious-ness shall we say. I don't know.

Overall this has been an enlightening read. I plan on re-reading the first part sometime because I really liked it.