Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: TV and Public Discourse
This paper examines Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, focusing on how Chapters Six and Nine illuminate each other. The paper explains Postman's central argument that television functions as a transformative medium rather than a neutral technology, reshaping American public life by prioritizing entertainment over substance. Drawing on Postman's analysis of political commercials, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and Ronald Reagan's famous remark that "politics is just like show business," the paper demonstrates how Postman uses politics as the clearest illustration of television's corrosive effect on meaningful public discourse.
- Introduction: Thesis connecting Chapters Six and Nine of Postman
- Television as a Medium, Not a Technology: Postman's argument that TV is a malleable medium
- Politics and the Commercial Form: Political advertising compared to TV commercials
- Style Over Substance in American Democracy: Entertainment values replacing reasoned political debate
- Conclusion: TV reshapes discourse; politics mirrors commercial logic
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper draws a clear structural connection between two separate chapters of Postman's book, showing how Chapter Nine (politics) serves as a concrete illustration of the theoretical argument made in Chapter Six (television as medium).
- The use of the Lincoln-Douglas debates as a historical counterpoint to modern political commercials provides an effective before-and-after contrast that supports Postman's argument without overreaching the source text.
- Direct quotation from Postman is used judiciously, with the student explaining each quote's significance rather than letting it stand alone.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates cross-chapter synthesis — reading two sections of a single book against each other to show how an author's abstract theoretical claims are grounded and tested by concrete historical examples. This is a foundational skill in literary and media analysis at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing paragraph that states its thesis: Chapter Nine illustrates Chapter Six. It then moves through three analytical sections — the historical contrast between Lincoln-Douglas and modern campaigns, Postman's medium theory and the 3.5-second information cycle, and the equivalence of politics and commercial advertising. A brief conclusion synthesizes the comparison and notes Postman's use of Reagan as evidence. One source is cited throughout.
Introduction
The age of television began in the 1950s, when the majority of Americans were finally able to have electricity brought directly to their homes and a television set installed. Television, as discussed in Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman, is not something that, by virtue of its technology, has a fixed use or destination in American life (83), but it does hold a central place because of its function as a medium. Postman makes several arguments about how the medium is used and how it has changed the way people think and act. He also makes the case that this may not be the best course for Americans, because it diminishes their ability to engage in true public discourse. This paper argues that Chapter Six, in which Postman discusses television as a medium in America, is illuminated — in part — by the political illustrations he offers in Chapter Nine.
Work Cited
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin Books, 1985. Print.
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