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

One last thing Postman fails to consider is the wealth and extent of information available today. It may have been fairly easy, in the 19th century, to be well informed on the small range of issues people were exposed to. To do the same nowadays, when we are inundated with information on a large variety of topics coming from all around the world, is much more difficult. People must pick and choose what interests them, the end result being that much of the knowledge they posses is shallow. While this becomes dangerous if they act upon this incomplete knowledge, such as in the case of local politics, generally the effect it has is inconsequential. The excess information tends to go in one ear and out the other, having no real impact on people’s lives. If something is seen to be of real importance, it is possible to do further research than what is offered on TV. If people fail to do so it is because they no longer see many issues, which were of utmost importance in the 1800’s, as being significant today. Perhaps this lack of interest is not healthy, but TV is certainly not to blame for it.

In view of this, it would seem that society’s desire to be entertained has not changed in the least, merely that the forms and availability of entertainment have changed. This is not to say that individuals concerned with serious issues did not exist. There have always been, and always will be, a minority that seeks to be educated and informed. However, these people have always been in the minority. The proportion of serious literature was small in comparison to that which was read for entertainment purposes, just as the proportion of serious TV is small in proportion to all the junk available nowadays. Postman’s insistence on comparing serious literature to frivolous TV, essentially comparing apples and oranges, seriously weakens his argument.

It should be said that, despite Postman’s failure to look at the big picture, and even though there are flaws in his argument, many aspects of “Amusing Ourselves to Death” are worthy of note. Most important of all are the issues it raises regarding American society’s lack of interest in serious issues, which is a frightening trend in our society that most definitely needs to be recognized and dealt with. Indeed, it is quite possibly irrelevant whether the cause of this decline in public discourse is TV or to other factors. As a wake up call to Americans the book is very effective, but in attempting to blame TV for society’s ills, it fai

Some topics in this essay:
Ourselves Death”, Bronte Austen, Indeed Postman, Naturally TV, Middle Ages, , 19th century, public discourse, Neil Postman, content tv, foreign countries, century print society, 19th century print, “amusing ourselves death”, quality public discourse, entertainment purposes, century print, proportion serious, “amusing ourselves, tv’s development, 19th century society’s, print society,