Amusing Ourselves to Death

AMUSING OURSELVES

TO DEATH PRESENTATION ON THE MEDIUM IS THE METAPHOR & MEDIA IS EPISTEMOLOGY

POSTMAN PROJECT Lauren. Jasmine. Andrea. Daniella. Alec.

S h a n n a n B u t l e r E d i t i o n

THE MEDIUM IS THE METAPHOR Chapter One

Camera Appeal “Cosmetics has replaced ideology as the field of expertise.” (Postman, p. 4)

Shift in Content The decline in the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television has dramatically and irreversibly shifted content and meaning of public discourse.

Speech is Indispensible

Speech is recreated through each new medium of communication.

Image Influences Opinions Many forms of public discourse regulate content and opinion on culture.

Media Influences Behavior

The media of communication is a dominant influence on the formation of the culture’s intellectual and social preoccupations.

MEDIA IS EPISTEMOLOGY Chapter Two

“Media-Metaphor” Shift Content of public discourse during the era of the printing press was coherent, serious and rational; but due to the content put out on television, content has become shriveled and absurd.

Epistemology Complex and opaque subject concerned with the origins and nature of knowledge.

Truth Linked to Biases of Expression

The concept of truth is intimately linked to the biases of forms of expression. Each culture conceives it as being most authentically expressed in certain symbolic forms.

Effects of Television-Based Epistemology

The decline of a print-based epistemology and the rise of a television-based epistemology has grave consequences for public life.

CURRENT STATE OF THE MEDIA Looking Forward

GROUP DISCUSSION Discussion

Ponder… Through what medium do you normally receive national news? How long does it normally take for the news to reach you? In what ways has television culturally impacted your life? What is your stance on the images that the media portray?