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Neil Postman was an American author, educator, media theorist, and cultural critic, who is best known for his work in the field of communications and technology. Postman’s most famous book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, is a critique of television and its impact on public discourse. In it, Postman argues that television has had a detrimental effect on the quality of political discourse in the United States.
Postman’s other major works include Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education, and Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future. In addition to his books, Postman also wrote numerous essays and articles which were collected in several volumes.
This guide will provide a brief overview of each of Postman’s major works, as well as some of his most important essays. It is my hope that this guide will be helpful for anyone looking to learn more about this important thinker.
Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985)
In 1985, Neil Postman wrote a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. The book is a criticism of television and its effect on society. Postman argues that TV has dumbed down public discourse, making it more entertainment-focused and less informative.
Postman criticizes the effects of television on society and culture. He argues that television has had a detrimental effect on the quality of political discourse in the United States. Postman contends that politicians now focus more on creating “sound bites” that will be picked up by the news media rather than engaging in thoughtful discussion of complex issues. As a result, Americans have become more concerned with entertainment than with information.
Postman’s argument is based on the idea that television has formatted our ideas and thoughts to be easily digestible soundbites and bite-sized pieces of information. This is in contrast to the Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, which was carefully crafted and delivered over the course of several minutes. speeches like King’s are no longer common because they cannot compete with the noise and spectacle of televangelists, infomercials, reality TV, and 24-hour news cycles.
In addition, Postman argues that television has changed the way we think about knowledge. In pre-television days, people would go to libraries or attend lectures to learn about the world. Now, we rely on TV news programs or Google searches to give us quick answers to complex questions. This has led to a situation where we value information that can be consumed quickly, rather than information that is deep or meaningful.
Postman’s book is a well-argued criticism of television and its effects on society. While some might argue that television can be used for educational purposes, Postman convincingly shows how its design and format have changed the way we think about knowledge and discourse. If you’re interested in media studies or the history of television, Amusing Ourselves to Death is definitely worth a read.
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (1992)
In Technopoly, Postman argues that technology has become increasingly dominant in American culture. He contends that technology has not only changed what we do but how we think about ourselves and our world. According to Postman, we have become a “technopoly”—a society in which technology is revered above all else. This worship of technology has led us to surrender our culture to it; we no longer control technology, it controls us.
Neil Postman’s book is a scathing critique of what the author sees as our society’s ever-increasing reliance on technology. Postman arguest that this reliance is not only detrimental to our social and cultural values but is also eroding the very foundation of our democracy. In support of his claims, Postman marshals a wide array of evidence ranging from studies on human behavior to historical analysis.
Technopoly vs. Democracy
A key theme of Postman’s book is the conflict between technopoly and democracy. For Postman, technopoly is a society that “subjects all deliberations about ends and means to considerations of technical feasibility” (p. 9). In other words, technopoly is a society in which technology reigns supreme and all other values are secondary. Democracy, on the other hand, is based on the principles of debate and discussion, with various stakeholders coming together to decide what is best for the community as a whole.
In technopoly, there is no need for debate or discussion because the answer to every problem is always “more technology.” More specifically, the answer is always “whatever new technology happens to be available at the time.” This blind faith in technology has led us down a path where we are constantly replacing old technologies with new ones without pausing to question whether or not we actually need them. As Postman puts it, we have become “a people on holiday from responsibility” (p. 31).
The Dangers of Technopoly
Carelessness about human values is part and parcel of Technopoly. When everything can be solved with more technology, there is no need to consider things like ethics or morality. This can have dangerous consequences, as evidenced by the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and the Stanford prison experiment. In both cases, researchers took advantage of unsuspecting participants in the name of science without regard for the potentially harmful effects their actions might have.
Postman’s Technopoly is a comprehensive and well-argued critique of our society’s relationship with technology. While many people see technological progress as an unalloyed good, Postman persuasively demonstrates that this progress comes at a high cost to our social and cultural values. As we become increasingly reliant on technology, we may find ourselves losing sight of what it means to be human.
Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education (1994)
In his book “Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education”, Neil Postman takes a critical look at the state of education in America. Postman contends that the American education system is in a state of crisis, and he attributes this to a number of factors, including the increasing use of technology in the classroom and the government’s steadily decreasing investment in education.
In the first chapter of his book, “The Crisis in Education”, Postman argues that the primary purpose of education should be to teach children how to think critically. He claims that the American education system has lost sight of this purpose, and as a result, students are not being equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the real world.
In the second chapter, “The Decline of Literacy”, Postman claims that the increasing use of technology in the classroom is having a negative impact on students’ ability to read and write. He asserts that schools should be teaching students how to use technology responsibly, instead of relying on it as a crutch.
The third chapter, “The Menace of Methods”, criticizes the way that education is currently being taught in America. Postman claims that teachers are too focused on teaching methods instead of content, and as a result, students are not receiving a well-rounded education.
In his fourth and final chapter, “The Perils of Pluralism”, Postman addresses the issue of multiculturalism in America. He argues that multiculturalism is dividing Americans instead of uniting them, and he calls for a return to traditional values in American education. Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future (1999)
How to Watch TV News (1992)
Neil Postman offers a six-point guide on how to watch television news critically. The first step is to be aware of the fact that most news programs are structured around entertainment values rather than informational ones. This means that the goal of the news program is not necessarily to inform the viewer, but to keep them watching. As a result, viewers should be aware of the techniques that news programs use to keep them engaged.
The second step is to understand that the information presented in a news program is always filtered through the lens of the person or organization producing the program. This means that it is important to be aware of the biases of the people creating the news program. The third step is to remember that television news is designed to appeal to as many people as possible, which means that it often oversimplifies complex issues. The fourth step is to be aware of the fact that television news relies heavily on visuals, which can often be misleading.
The fifth step is to realize that much of what is presented as news on television is actually nonsense. This includes things like weather forecasts, celebrity gossip, and sports scores. The final step is to accept that there is no such thing as objective reality, and that all news stories are subjective interpretations of events. By keeping these six points in mind, viewers can watch television news with a critical eye and avoid being manipulated by the media.
Neil Postman was an important thinker whose work spanned several disciplines including media studies, education, and cultural criticism. This guide provides a brief overview of some of his most important works. I hope it will be helpful for anyone looking into this significant thinker’s body of work.