As I was reading Postman, Chapter 5, my mother came into my room to tell me that Shia Labeouf, a famous actor, had gotten into a car accident, due to his drunk driving. I found it incredibly ironic that, as I was reading about the excess of useless information in modern society, information that has nothing to do with our lives and which we can do nothing about, my mother was sharing an example of it with me. What was I to say about Shia's recent scandal? "Wow, that's crazy," is exactly what I said. What else would I say when presented with such information? What would I do about it even if I had something to say? I have never met Shia Labeouf and probably never will. The information was as useless as knowing that the famous philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was fond of "mooning" people. It made me wonder how often I am presented with useless information, that I can do nothing about, except pass it on to others, who also can do nothing about it.
This got me thinking about how relevant Amusing Ourselves to Death actually is. It definitely won't cause me to take any abnormal action. I won't stop watching television, or using my computer. But then I realized that the mere fact that it had caused me to start questioning is where its relevance lies. As I watch television now, I find myself constantly questioning whether or not the information I am absorbing is relevant. It is almost never relevant. The only exception I've found recently is the movie "Rent", whose metaphors caused me to think, reflect, and question, while singing along. It caused me to investigate concepts I had never heard of and words I did not know the definition of. Could this be because "Rent" actually started out as a play?
What I would like to know is, have any of you begun noticing the irrelevance of the information you are being provided with through modern forms of media? What experiences have you had with Postman's book causing you to think about everyday occurrences differently than you did before reading the book? Has the book been relevant in your lives, or has it become the very thing it warns us about, information that we can do nothing about and is irrelevant to our lives? Can we change this by simply noticing how our media is affecting us?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
THis book has definetely sparked a few plugs for me. I always knew that television was basically usesless in giving information, but had never really got past that thought. Now that I have read this book it has opened my eyes even more. When i watch Television or listen to the morning shows on the radio, I don't really listen with intentness as i did before. I don't really know if this changes anything, but I do know it makes me want no make sure I don't get addicted to ridiculous media crap.
Tashiana I agree with you whole-heartedly that television is filled with irrelevant and useless information. It is filled with information that does not pertain to us at all. I mean look at what students talk about at school as you walk down the halls. They talk about celebrities and the mistakes that pop idols make. An example of this is Britney Spears and how she got pregnant and how she drove under the influence or what not, you hear the questions like so is Britney still in rehab? I think the real question why do you care? It has nothing to do with our personal lives and its just irrelevant, unnecessary information. It is not going to affect us whether Britney is in rehab or not so why care? Are people so bored with their own lives that they have to venture into the lives of others? Do people not get enough drama in their own lives that they need to fine other people to compensate for their needs? Perhaps it is simply because people just enjoying gossiping. It is not just Britney Spears it is also other celebrities such as Brangelina, Selena Gomez, and Nikki Blonsky. I found these names on television when I bother to watch TV. These names mean absolutely nothing, because they are on television to fill up space. They are worthless information that does not influence our daily lives at all. So I ask one last time why do people care?
Post a Comment