death by television

             In reading through the Borzoi College Reader, looking for a topic to write on, I came to the section entitled "Television and Reality." As I started reading through "Amusing Ourselves to Death," by Neil Postman, he made some points that hit me and made me think. The quote that hit me the most was:
             The problem is not that TV presents the masses with entertaining subject matter, but that television presents all subject matter as entertaining. What is dangerous about television is not its junk. Every culture can absorb a fair amount of junk, and, in any case we do not judge a culture by its junk but by how it conducts itself in its serious public business. What is happening in America is that television is transforming all serious public business into junk.
             He also continues to point out interesting facts, which I feel, do not need to be accredited to Neil Postman. The reason I feel this way is because they are too true, everybody know them. Yet, as per requirement, I also found these in "Amusing Ourselves to Death," by Neil Postman: he points out that a fat person cannot be a politician, due to the "unpleasant" image seen on television and how this image overwhelms any point that may come out of the person's mouth. Mr. Postman also points out that "so many Americans prefer to get their religious instruction from television rather then from church." In this, he points out the "simplistic and theatrical" style of several televangelists and how they void the effort involved in religion. He also points out how education has been turned "into a vaudeville act." His example is the well-known Sesame Street. He lays before us the idea that "its creators and audience now accept without qualification the idea that learning and entertainme!
             After crossing, mixing, and comparing the facts, the conc
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
death by television . (1970, January 01). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 16:01, August 26, 2026, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/63641.html