Although it can be daunting to read this book, I have definitely learned and noticed many things about our culture today that I had not even thought about before. The fact that this book was written around thirty years ago is also very interesting, since show business and the television were not as significant as they are today. Postman noticed things more apparently than we do today, and it opens our eyes to how we have forgotten what America's culture used to have been and how technology along with show business has shaped our lives today. If Postman were to write a book about our generation and its massive involvement in entertainment, would he be more sorry or disappointed in what he sees in us? The way Postman describes show business and entertainment in this book is very accurate, and to see both of those things become much more considerable ideas in our society would truly show how we are so blinded and ignorant to what our culture was.
Jaden Cleto
Jaden Cleto
Yes, I agree. I feel the same way when reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World as well. These books were written so long ago yet the authors capture what we could not today. It is scarily accurate how Postman viewed the media and how it functions. It is interesting to imagine how Postman would have reacted to the the ever-growing "television culture" he describes with the worldwide successes of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Not to mention, the technological advancements achieved for us to have even faster mobile phones, basically portable mini computers. Postman would most likely further his claim on how print-based cultures are becoming less and less prominent and might even comment about (or analyze) the psychological impacts of all this new technology.
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