Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

The main theme of Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death is how television has transformed every aspect of American society in the latter half of the 20th century. Part 2 of the book examines what Postman calls the Age of Show Business, characterized by instant information and images, which television has come to dominate. Over several chapters, he analyzes television’s influence on important forms of public discourse such as the news, religion, politics, and education—in his view, degrading each and every one.

In Part 1, Chapter 2, Postman makes it clear that he “appreciate[s] junk as much as the next fellow” (16). Television has its purpose, and he’s not trying to abolish it as a medium. His problem with it is that it now controls our interpretation of all aspects of society, no longer consigned to the realm of entertainment, which it is best suited for. Because of this, television imposes its entertaining nature on everything that makes use of it, including the most important institutions in our culture. After demonstrating how media always create a bias toward specific kinds of information, Postman examines the news, religion, politics, and education in modern America, noting how television has changed them.

Postman argues that television’s effect is overwhelmingly negative. The preceding era focused on print media (The Age of Exposition), which was well suited to the important areas of public discourse because of its emphasis on exposition. This involves facts building upon each other to make arguments based on logic and hierarchical structure, which is necessary for deep, serious thoughts. Television’s bias negates exposition, as people are predisposed to being amused. Thus, any use of television requires “dumbing down” ideas and adding a “fun factor”. Religion is secularized and dramatized, while politics focus on attractive faces and sound bites. In short, everything becomes advertising, which is not conducive to advanced civilization.

Postman has no answers for television’s effect, as there’s no going back to the 19th century to regain the glory of the Age of Exposition. However, his suggestion is to use schools, long the preferred choice for addressing society’s problems, to educate young people about television’s effects. This will not fix the problem, but at least people will be aware of how technology works and understand television’s influence on them. Discussion and investigation are the collective first step toward people controlling television rather than being controlled by it.