Amusing Ourselves to Death

[searcher]

Was reading through another forum earlier and came across something that led me to this. I read it and started thinking about all the news and programing we get today. You have pro-democracy, pro strongman, doom and gloom, and all sorts of subjects to keep you amused. Just hit your remote and you can head to whatever fantasy land you desire.

Amusing Ourselves to Death - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[searcher]

TELEVISION AND THE PUBLIC DECLINE OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE
An Interview With Neil Postman

Vol. 3 #1

 

[pmbug]

As the mediums for public discourse become more inclusive, it's only natural that the level of discourse drops to accommodate the lowest common denominators. It's the same dynamic that plays out in schools with class room sizes. Bigger classes = dumbed down / slower learning.

 

[Goldhedge]

 

[JayDubya]

"Postman said that the contemporary world was better reflected by Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, whose public was oppressed by their addiction to amusement, rather than by Orwell's work, where they were oppressed by state violence."

While I agree with him that developed countries seem to fit his thesis more prevalently, I would argue that state violence and oppression are still practiced worldwide, particularly in several third-world countries. Furthermore, it is gaining traction in some of the more developed countries as well.

 

[searcher]

If you look through the https://www.pmbug.com/threads/taylor-swift-is-named-time-magazines-person-of-the-year.6821/ thread you'll see how the media can take something and turn it into a tv type series that peeps follow and become actors themselves.