Book Review #1

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. (Penguin (Non-Classics), 2005 [First edition 1985])

It is not by chance that this is the first book I am reviewing at my site. I first learnt about Amusing Ourselves to Death by watching a video from the YouTube channel struthless. The video in question is titled "The Brainrot Apocalypse (A DIY survilval guide). At first, I thought it was just one more video about how doomscrolling is killing us and other medialocalypse stuff. There is a certain irnony in that sort of videos. You feel interested on the topic and watch it. Generally, you agree with most of what is said. Yes, social networks suck, especially in recent years. And yes, the impact AI is having on us is also a serious problem. However you go, watch the video, and then, nothing.
That didn't happen to me with this video from struthless. For the first time, I felt prompted to take action and do something. I guess, for me it was the last straw. In fact, that I am building this site in the first place is a direct consequence of his video. Struthless also offered other selection of actions that one could do. Included in it, was reading about media theory and being informed. Specifically he offered a selection of five books, in which Postman's was included. That's how I first got interested in this reading.
Now, the first thing to note is that this is a book originally written in 1985. How could possibly a book written almost half a century ago be of use today, especially regarding technology, which, has changed quite a lot since back then. Well, that is precisely what has made this book so interesting to me. As the title and the cover of the book already suggests, Postman's main argument is directed towards television. This specific technology is what according to Postman has led to the "Age of Showbusiness", that is, an age dominated by television media. The argument of the whole book is based on the premise that media itself is the message, something that heavily draws from prior works such as Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media, which may be reviewed here again in the future.
The first impression I had, before actually diving into the book, was that this was just going to be a book written by an old grumpy man, complaining about new stuff that he doesn't bother to understand, and just saying "things were better before", but to my surprise that wasn't really the case. For one, the book is very well written and easy to follow. Maybe Postman was consciously trying to write for an audience he tought already doomed because of the influence of television? In any case, the first chapters of his books give an outline of how the world was before television, a brief history of society and how media changed it. From an oral world, to a printed world, it makes you realize, with good examples, who indeed media shapes how we perceive information. I must say though I felt Postman was being a bit too optimistic when arguing about societies in which the printed media was central. He paints a picture that feels like almost everyone had cognitive capacities of the most intelligent scholar, which, I think, is probably not very accurate. But he does have a point when he explains that political speeches were much more curated, and that people that attended this events (which were in a sense, the amusement of that time) had a much better capacity for discussing serious issues and reflecting on complex issues.
I believe that the main reason why I would recommend this read is because even if it is about television, many of the arguments and points Postman makes resonates with today's situation. Reading this book while thinking about internet in our days gives room for some deep reflection, which I think, is very necessary.