What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? In the season of Trump and Hillary, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever.
Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs it has taken on even greater significance. "Amusing Ourselves to Death" is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining controlof our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
"Way back in 1985 - the year Stern conquered the New York airwaves and a brash young Trump was best known for breaking apart the upstartUSFL football league - one prophet predicted today's political crisis. That prophet's name was Neil Postman, a New York University professor and media critic. His landmark book "Amusing Ourselves to Death"predicted that schlock entertainment values would eventually strangle American democracy like a cluster of poison ivy...It's unlikely that Trump has ever read "Amusing Ourselves to Death," but his ascent would not have surprised Postman. -CNN"
