Blame TV?

             American society has become exceedingly trivial, no doubt about that. It may also be true that certain forms of communication contributed to this current state of affairs. However, surely it is overly simplistic to claim, as Neil Postman does in his book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," that these forms of communication, namely television and its predecessors, the telegraph and photograph, single-handedly brought about this decline in the quality of public discourse?
             This essay, then, is an attempt to lift some of the blame off of TV's shoulders. It will demonstrate that the trivialization of society occurred not because of TV but, rather, concurrently with its development – through sheer coincidence. Furthermore, it will argue that, perhaps, society has always been somewhat trivial and entertainment-obsessed, that Postman is merely glamorizing or misinterpreting certain aspects of 19th century print society.
             Postman himself, in the early pages of his book, admits that his story is probably not anywhere near the whole truth. Unfortunately, he fails to keep this admission in mind when later developing his argument. If he had, he would have been forced to take into consideration, or at least acknowledged, factors beyond the development of TV which might have contributed to the formation of modern society. Factors such as cultural, religious and historical identity, not to mention economic developments. It is not even necessary to explore these factors in depth to see how they played an important role in society's transition from print to TV.
             For example, imagine that TV had been introduced to the masses, in its fully-functional, modern form, 400 or so years prior to its actual invention. In a society where only a few knew wealth and leisure while the bulk of the population was forced to slave and knew only work and hardship, would TV have had the same composition as it did when introduced into a, for t...

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Blame TV?. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 13:47, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/71735.html