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.