after reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, i got to think a lot about television. our group (jennifer, andrea and Lori, Emily, Jennifer A.) also discussed the difference between television and internet. i think television used to be the most powerful and influential mass communication all over the world before the introduction of internet.
since 1997, the birth year of www, there has been an unprecedented change in the relationship between people and information or media. our dependence of television media has apparently decreased and we, as users, are in a much more powerful position to select and use a specific medium out of many that meets our individual needs. In a way, we're living in an age of media renaissance where media in diverse formats are created, adapted, and become part of our culture : typography, photo in print and digital, television, radio, cell phones, mp3, mp4.. film, video, internet.....
quite contrary to Neil Postman's concern, i think the culture of internet gave re-birth to a digital typography: through the internet, people express themselves more than ever before. blogging is a good example of it. whether it's used for a personal diary or practice of professional activism, political or social, blogging enabled people to express themselves more through writing. this is a true merit that 'digital typography' has over Postman's nostalgic age of typography.
when it comes to television, certain aspects or contributions it made cannot be overlooked. television enabled us to evolve from text-oriented culture to image, sound and motion-oriented one. it enabled us to see and experience, although indirectly, news, events and entertainments across the globe, or in a way made the world 'kind of' connected, although not in such an interactive and participatory way the internet does.
compared to the age of typography, i think the genuine power of television media lies in the visual effect. i don't agree with Postman in his claim that typography is the only 'mature' , 'sophisticated', and 'highly valuable' media. (he didn't exactly say this way, but this is my interpretation of it.) we, human beings, learn and process information not only by reason but also by senses, which means we can benefit from as many media as there can be. one can be more beneficial than the other, vice versa, depending on circumstances and intentions.
i grew up watching television a lot. i can't say that it was all that great. sometimes i feel i should have read more instead, but i can certainly say that i learned a lot from GOOD tv programs. (yes, there're plenty of good, and even educational ones!) some of my favorite channels like discovery, history, food network, travel, health and fit... are as valuable tools for learning to me as others in different formats. for me, they work as excellent stimulants for further study and research.
just as some dietitians say that 'we are what we eat', i think this logic can be applied to our relationship to media: given that we ourselves make conscious choice of media, we are what we see, we are what we listen to , we are what we say, we are what we write and we are what we use, in other words, whatever media we take, it represent who we are.
(any media can be a junk or treasure depending on how we consume it.)
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I'm glad that you've brought the ability to choose from media to light. It seems like Postman completely disregarded the fact that people might like a choice besides print media, that it might suit them better, and that when television is junk, there are other options (even before the internet) that might not be!
ReplyDeleteYeah it's ridiculous that typography is the only sophisticated format for communicating/informing. I feel a message can be dignified in any format as long as whom its coming from is informed and he/she knows how to properly use the medium aka being literate in it.
ReplyDeleteI think what Postman would say to all of you is that even if we type thousands of words a day via email it isn't, for the most part, conceived of, edited, or distributed in the same way that say a magazine article covering the same subjects would be, and this on his account changes the nature of the content. Yes, we are writing, but where, how and to what ends?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding Postman’s claim that “typography is the only 'mature,' 'sophisticated,' and 'highly valuable' media” is not true. The internet and television are students’ main mediums now days; forcing students to learn solely by print is causing us to be disconnected them.
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