Chapter 1: “Speech, of course, is the primal and indispensable medium” (pg 9).
I agree with Postman that people can not live without some sort of speech to communicate with. People can not communicate effectively with each other in less they use speech. I had a experience with no speech when we had the day of using a white broad only being able to draw on it. It was hard and confusing for me and people who did not know why I was not talking. Speech will never be replaced and will always be needed by the people to communicate effectively and for other people to understand.
Chapter 2: “I am arguing that a television-based epistemology pollutes public communication and its surrounding landscape, not that it pollutes everything” (pg 28).
I agree with Postman on this too. Television does affect the way we communicate with people and how we interact with them. Television affects how we act and what we do in our daily lives. If I am watching TV I am more likely to ignore what people are saying around me or not do what I am suppose to be doing at that point in time. Also when people watch TV it distracts them and they can miss something important. When people watch TV they are in basically a trance and do not know what is going on around them.
Chapter 3: “One sometimes hears it said, for example, that there is more printed matter available today than ever before, which is undoubtedly true”(pg 41).
I agree with him on this, there are books everywhere for us to read. This connects into his book because even though we have some many choices of books to read we rather watch TV or be on our computers. This connects to almost every teenager they rather watch TV or be on face book than read a book and do something educational. That does count for me sometimes but I do read books instead of watching TV. Even though we have that available to us we take it for granted and watch TV or are on our electronics.
Chapter 4: “Is there any audience of Americans today who could endure seven hours of talk? Or five? Of three? Especially without pictures of any kind? Second there audiences must have had an equally extraordinary capacity to comprehend lengthy and complex sentences aurally” (pg 45).
I agree with him on this too, he is not trying to offend any Americans by saying that he is just stating the truth. No one in our time period could sit there for that long and listen to a speech when kids can barely sit still for a forty-five minutes class period or even a twenty minute chapel. Also usually we need to have the words in front of us to understand something complex that needs thought not have it read to us and understand it.
Chapter 5: “But most of our daily news is inert consisting of information that gives us something to talk about but cannot lead to any meaningful action” (pg 68).
I disagree with him on this point, because not everything in the news is meaning less and will not cause people to take action and help out. Yes, some stuff on the news is pointless and should just be ignored and not put on the news in the first place. Hurricane Katrina is an example of the news not just informing us of something pointless. When people were informed of what had happened a lot of them started to find ways to help the people who had lost everything and needed to rebuild their lives. That just shows that the news is not all pointless information.
Chapter 6: “But what I am claiming here is not that television is entertaining but that it has made entertainment itself the natural format for the representation of all experience” (pg 87).
I agree with him television has been turned into a natural occurrence not just their for entertainment a few times a week or when the weather is bad. We turn to TV for everything now, it’s not just there in case people need it. An example would be when people are at home it’s a sunny warm day on summer vacation and you have all these kids sitting inside rather than going out and exercising and having fun. Also that when we watch certain shows we think we have to be like the actors and actresses and do what they do to be considered cool and popular. It is natural for us to turn to TV and sort of mimic what they do.
Chapter 7: “For there, we are presented not only with fragmented news but news without context, without consequence, without value, and therefore without essential seriousness; that is to say, news as pure entertainment” (pg 100).
I disagree, yes some news can be just for entertainment, but most news is there to inform us of what if going on in the world. The news can tell us information we do not need to know, but most of it is informing us of what is going on even if it does not involve us directly. An example would be when I some time watch the news they talk about what is happening in our state, the country or even in other counties. They informed us about what happened with Hurricane Katrina and we were able to go and help them out in many way possible. All the news is not just entertainment.
Chapter 8: “I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether” (pg 121).
I agree with him on this. When you put something as serious as people’s religions and beliefs on TV and they try to make it seem like they are serious, but really are making it amusing so people watch. They think they are doing a good thing by doing that and getting other people to hear the Word of God. They are not I have seen one of those shows on TV and all they really care about is getting ratings to stay on the air. They do not mention a lot about God and our salvation they just preach something that they think people will relate to and help them out in the end.
Chapter 9: “Indeed, we may go this far: The television commercial is not all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of products” (pg 128).
I agree most commercials are not about the product and the character of the product, but about the character of the people they are trying to sell the product too. If a someone is watching MTV it is going to try to sell you products a teen would want like energy drinks, clothes from popular stores or even songs of certain artists. People do not care if the product is over priced and is actually a good one to begin with, but when they see another teen on a commercial with it they will most likely want it too.
Chapter 10: “Every television program must be a complete package in itself. No previous knowledge is to be required. There must not be even a hint that learning is hierarchical, that it is and edifice constructed on a foundation. The learner must be allowed to enter at any point without prejudice” (pg 147).
I disagree with him on this, some TV shows maybe like that but not all of them are that bad. Shows the NCIS, Law and Order, CSI, Lost, and even House, are shows when you need some previous knowledge to understand what is going on during that episode. People do not need a lot of knowledge but they need some to understand the concept of the episode or even the all the seasons. I watch shows where if you miss and episode you will be confused and lost, whereas some shows I watch you can miss five or six and still know what it going on. Not all shows are pointless and have no plot to them.
