Amusing Ourselves to Death
1985
- mass media
- influence
- television broadcasting
- social aspects
- social aspects of television broadcasting
- nonfiction
- performing arts
- sociology
- culturele invloeden
- televisie
The story
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
What it’s like
Crisp, unhurried nonfiction prose with the feel of a long argument made at a lectern: clear sentences, a dry wit, and a steady insistence on examples drawn from old television ads, news broadcasts and the shape of the printed page. It reads like an evening lecture in a book-lined room, lamp on, a cup of tea going cold beside you, the pages turning slowly as the argument builds. The tone is measured and rueful rather than angry, a sober sort of alarm delivered with courtesy, and its rhythm is that of patient reasoning, each chapter folding one medium into the next until the pattern is hard to unsee. It suits a quiet weekend afternoon, a slow reread, or a long train journey where you want ideas to chew on rather than a story to chase. Expect no violence, no gore, and no sexual content; the intensity is purely intellectual, a sustained unease about how attention gets bought and sold. It is for readers who enjoy cultural criticism, people who wonder how television, news and schooling have reshaped public thinking, and anyone who wants a thoughtful, unhurried book about media and its quiet influence on daily life.
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