“Amusing Ourselves to Death” Foreword, Chapter 1 and 2 Summarized In Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death", he suggests that our society has become dependent on gathering our information from media and we are becoming powerless. He goes on to show that television is the primary means of information and is converting it into entertainment. Postman begins with a foreword that’s summarized as the comparison of views written about in “1984” by George Orwell and in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. Both authors write about two different imaginary Utopian societies. Orwell fears a dictatorial state prohibits information (i.e.
I found from this article that Miner was hoping to have us see that Americans have many cultural beliefs or practices that really are ridiculous when viewed from somebody else. Horace Miner presents in his article, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, that society is so stuck in their ways of living and forget about the way they used to live without the ‘materialistic’ ways of life. He is trying to portray that society has changed so much over the years and has made such a negative effect on this world, and that we need to learn what really matters and what a positive culture is. “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” (Gandhi, M. (n.d.)). People in our world come from all different cultures that we may not always be familiar with.
There were several reasons for the introduction of proportional electoral systems in the UK, the most notable being the widespread discontentment felt for the unrepresentative nature of FPTP amongst the public. This dissatisfaction with FPTP was steadily growing (since it failed in the 1970s to produce strong majority governments) and by electing those newly devolved bodies and assemblies using a proportional system the government was able to check public support for each system by means of referencing turnout/spoiled ballots etc. This also meant that the government were able to introduce proportional electoral systems for the public (ticking all the right boxes in the electorate’s eyes) without having to go through the numerous complications involved in reform of the Westminster electoral system. It can be said that PR’s use in these smaller elections was to act as ‘on trial’ for possible introduction into UK general elections; a proposition that as of yet has not materialized. STV has been in place in Scottish local elections since 2007, largely due to the fact that it
FAMILY GUY & AMERICAN DAD: POINTLESS SITCOMS USING INVALID SOCIAL HUMOUR Class: ENG3U1-05 Teacher: Mrs. Simpson Date: March 9th, 2012 Name: Anas Khan Word Count: 1,502 FAMILY GUY & AMERICA DAD: POINTLESS SICOMS USE INVALID FORMS OF SOCIAL HUMOUR These “rude TV” shows have been around for so long, which is surprising considering the fact that they create a ton of controversies. It’s surprising that Family Guy and American Dad are allowed to air such politically incorrect material on national television. These shows are inappropriate for most of the audience, youth making up most of it, because they contain coarse language, sexual themes, controversial matter and ill mannerism. The dull shows also incorporate the mockery of Christianity and abuse the two most important figures of the religion. Finally, illegal substances are supported, such as marijuana and cocaine, through comedic gestures.
“That’s not the way the media wants to take it and spin it and turn it into fear because then your watching television… news and your being pumped full of fear… it’s a campaign of fear and consumption- interview” How this alters my perspective> the media isn’t always reliable and it can be very inaccurate and misleading. It also changes my perspective in the way that the media has the power to change the way people think and believe in. Third paragraph: *The irony that the government doesn’t get blamed for the gun violence when they frequently get involved in foreign affairs (Archival footage & music) 1963-1975: American military kills 4 million civilians in south East Asia. 1991: American planes bombs Iraq on a weekly basis 2001: Osama Bin Laden uses expert CIA training to murder 3000 people. “I think that’s really ironic that nobody said maybe the president had any influence on this violent behavior.”- Interview How this alters my perspective: thinking that the government always tries to help, this makes it very contradicting, the govt.
Occupy Wall Street members will find many of Mill’s observations and conclusions relevant to today’s society. The “One Percent” represents many of the “Power Elite” and the control and influence they have on US policies in both at home and abroad. Mills criticism of US society and politics for its lack of democracy, class inequalities, and increasing militarism can be heard in the voices of protesters on Wall Street. Occupiers represent people who have put aside apathy and hopelessness to become a voice of change for American politics. They have realized that we need to make a change and disrupt the status quo.
Televisions were considered to be anti-war influences because the media showed horrible things happening in Vietnam that cause the public to give less support. The media not only affected the nature of the war to the public but it also changes the minds of Americans on their own people. "Critics in the government, the military, and elsewhere claim that the media was dominated by the antiwar journalists who poisoned the American public against the war by delivering superficial and negative coverage of the conflict. (pg 177 Walter). This shows how Walter noticed that people attentions were grabbed by the over coverage the news released.
Synthesis Essay The impact of the television on the people of this country has greatly increased throughout the years. However, the influences portrayed from the televisions are not always for the better. The media tries its best to send information to the people, but on the topic of presidential elections, there is always controversy. It seems to appear that the television has had “unsuspected” help to make the presidential elections focused more on which candidate is more impressive on screen, then who is presenting the finest ideas. The president’s image is important in a campaign, but it should not be the main factor to which they deserve to be sworn into office.
One problem that people have really with these kinds of wars is that they only focus on the bad things and what goes wrong in them. These ignorant people let the ever so negative media make their decisions on why wars like these are wrong. The media only ever has seemed to show the bad sides of everything and unfortunately the majority of the people in this country watch about five minutes of the news, only watch and see the bad sides of these wars, and continue on about the business only knowing and thinking “oh the _____ war is so dumb we aren’t accomplishing anything whatsoever!” Take another war for example the War in Iraq. We entered it to really try and establish ‘peace in the middle east’. Again sadly people flip on the television; see the reports reporters found of Iraqis begging that we get out that we have only made things worse, they see that our government spends too much money on the war, and that x amount of soldiers died that day.
The political candidates will be “exposed and discredited” from many angles on television shows, such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live, and in political cartoons in newspapers around the country. This practice has a long and storied history that has changed politics significantly. A critic of satire’s affect on politics might state that it is purely for humor and has no influence on political reality; satirical television shows are funny but not credible enough to sway political opinion. The expectation is that educated voters and practicing politicians look past the taunts and jokes of practicing satirists. However, this view is not the case.