I have read the first two chapters of Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman and it has literally
upset me. I knew the world was cruel, but I didn’t know it was this bad.
In the book, it starts off by talking about how society is
all about image and how your personality and knowledge do matter, but when it
comes down to it looks are always the main factor. Nowadays, technology and
media are booming, while books and writing are sort of becoming left behind.
Television is to blame for this. It has changed people’s
thought process and yes, it is an easy way to get information around and it is
a great entertainer; yet it has overtaken the old world and has started a new
one. Now society thinks they have to be like the people on T.V, when in reality
people don’t look like that! Presidents have to be skinny and somewhat good
looking just to get votes because people don’t want someone fat representing
their country. Isn’t this wrong? What if the person that is more capable of
being someone in office is overthrown by the skinnier guy just because of his
looks? Society shouldn’t be this way, but it is because of television and
media.
I completely agree with you. These days it seems like political elections have simply become a battle of advertisements. Candidates develop these images to work the same way commercials do, they offer an abstract image of what the public feels it lacks. Therefore, people no longer vote for who deserves it or what is best for them, but what they are told they lack in their lives.
ReplyDeleteAs humans, we feed off of appearance. You cannot lie and say that we don't care about your weight, looks, etc. Studies have shown that people with good looking appearance have an advantage. But you have to understand that the way that one presents themselves is the way that everyone else perceives them. As much as your capabilities and knowledge may skyrocket and be at its best, appearance must be presentable because people do take that into consideration. Your appearance bases and judges your work ethics. I think it's very extreme to say that television and entertainment is the main blame because people with eyes in general know how to look at the pros and cons, positives and negative, etc. Think about Abercrombie and Fitch, Hooters, and just general materialistic stores that look for people with "that look" also known as the "it look".
ReplyDeleteI agree that TV does brainwashes us to conform to these standards. People these days always wants to be the good-looking, sexy, and handsome guy or gal, and television is the one conditioning us to be this way. In my opinion, in relation to this book and Brave New World, you can say that Huxley's World State is becoming true, in terms of mental conditioning. Alphas, Betas, Deltas, etc., are all conditioned from decanting(birth) to be in a certain kind of way. Today, we see a similar pattern in television, though this kind of conditioning is more of picturesque learning instead of oral learning, and that television is more flexible, or controllable in terms of usage, in contrast to the routine hypnopaedic "nursery rhymes" of the World State.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what you are saying. People are becoming brainwashed with television, because people nowadays only look for image. People seem not to care about the true values and morals. Yes it is true that the way you present yourself does influence how others perceive you, but only people that are so attached to technology would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. People must become educated in the media and learn that literally not everything is what it seems. People must be willing to understand, not judge.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you because now with TV they only have to show us the good things, they do not have to show us what is bad with the world. When you watch the news they can be talking about a horrific murder, but if they play happy music in the background and change the subject quite abruptly to a somewhat happy one. They can make that horrific situation seem not as bad as it really is. People only go for the image nowadays. It does not matter how you act as long as you look good doing it. TV is brainwashing our society and it will only keep going downhill from here.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Looking good or trendy has become a major issue in the world today. Women, and even men, have gotten surgeries to look prettier and skinnier. Your post reminded me of the article we read in English last year about Abercrombie and Fitch only hiring young people who fit their particular profile. I am sure this same problem is occurring worldwide, in stores and businesses everywhere. It is not fair to the qualified, smart people out there who may not dress the "right" way or look like the people in the magazines.
ReplyDelete