Amusing Ourselves to Death
“A major new medium changes the structure of discourse; it does so by encouraging certain uses of the intellect, by favoring certain definitions of intelligence and wisdom, and by demanding a certain kind of content.”
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Amusing Ourselves to Death was the last book I read before the new year. Postman develops a concept to capture the growing concern over “screen culture” in the 80s. The number of screens has grown exponentially since then.
Postman writes to analyze visual media’s overtaking of literature and the written word. He lives in an era where political cartoons and Hollywood stars capture the American psyche better than the old mediums. The concern is how the popularity of TV-based discourse can reshape and affect society at large.
Medium is the Message
A detour to McLuhan can give insight into what Postman is writing about. McLuhan’s famous phrase “the medium is the message” captures how it’s not only the content of media which shapes society but the medium itself. It fits into Postman’s argument, where the shift from print-based culture to TV-based media alters how we receive information and how we engage with the information.
McLuhan’s insight helps us understand how digital media doesn’t only deliver content. It shapes our thinking, perception, and even our ways of life; leading us toward a more abbreviated, reactive form of existence.