On Politics as Entertainment

The book that sparked my interest in the intersection of media and politics, especially the advent of television and how that affected American political discourse, is Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. Here is an article by Postman's son that explains how his argument is still very much relevant to today. Here are a few excerpts from the article:

_____

"Today, the average weekly screen time for an American adult – brace yourself; this is not a typo – is 74 hours (and still going up). We watch when we want, not when anyone tells us, and usually alone, and often while doing several other things. The soundbite has been replaced by virality, meme, hot take, tweet. Can serious national issues really be explored in any coherent, meaningful way in such a fragmented, attention-challenged environment?"

"Sure, times change. Technology and innovation wait for no man. Get with the program. But how engaged can any populace be when the most we’re asked to do is to like or not like a particular post, or 'sign' an online petition? How seriously should anyone take us, or should we take ourselves, when the 'optics' of an address or campaign speech – raucousness, maybe actual violence, childishly attention-craving gestures or facial expressions – rather than the content of the speech determines how much 'airtime' it gets, and how often people watch, share and favorite it?"

"Our public discourse has become so trivialized, it’s astounding that we still cling to the word 'debates' for what our presidential candidates do onstage when facing each other. Really? Who can be shocked by the rise of a reality TV star, a man given to loud, inflammatory statements, many of which are spectacularly untrue but virtually all of which make for what used to be called 'good television'?"

_____

In the book, Postman says that we were so caught up in living in a 1984-esque world that we failed to be cautious of living in a world like one in Brave New World (which, by the way, are fantastic books that I would highly recommend), that we now live in a society where entertainment dominates all discourse, from education to religion to politics. 

Think about why Trump's supporters love him so much. He's controversial. People hate him. He has explosive rallies that are more akin to a high school football game than a political event. What did most of us consider his first debate with President-Elect Joe Biden as? A raucous, entertaining, slightly uncomfortable argument. 

The nature of capitalism and media has led to this predicament. In order to be a successful and profitable outlet, a media organization needs to get as many views as possible. To get said views, they have to be flashy, aesthetically pleasing, and entertaining outlet. Notice when you watch the news how they skim over really important world news. A nuclear threat from North Korea might get 30 seconds of airtime, and that's being generous. 

So, next time you read the news, watch TV, or "accidentally" spend 3 hours on Tik Tok (guilty as charged), think about Postman's argument; once you read his book, you can't unsee what he talks about: amusement and entertainment in every single modern form of communication.