After reading Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death, I realized that what he said made a lot of sense from media being brainwashing to Sesame Street being more entertaining than educational. His title for the book though, really does apply to not only myself but anyone who watches television on a daily basis.
Most good shows are comedies, so with all of those on we're just laughing our lives away. I usually watch comedies more than anything, so I know I'm already being sucked into the television's vortex of garbage. We are also humoring the production companies by watching this filth over and over and over. It's insane how a television show can be so influential to our lives, enough to change them completely. But only WE can help ourselves to get away from that. We have to humor ourselves and steer away from media. Not completely of course, but enough so that it does not consume us.
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That's a good point. Postman does say, however, that 'junk' - i assume he includes sitcoms, cartoons, and other comedies - is the least harmful thing on television. For his purposes, it's the typographic equivalent to reading a not-so-great, but still entertaining, novel. What worries him about television is the stuff tat presents itself as serious.
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