About the book
Media scholar Neil Postman argues that television has bent American public discourse to the demands of entertainment. Drawing on a 1984 talk about Orwell, Postman contends that Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, with its public undone by amusement rather than force, is the better guide to the present. His premise is that a medium limits the kind of ideas it can carry, so television works against the rational argument that print sustains. He applies this to news programs with theme music and commercial breaks, to politics judged by how candidates come across on screen, and to religion and education. First published in 1985, it was reissued by his son Andrew for its 20th anniversary.
Patrick Collison includes it on his Bookshelf page. Writer Austin Kleon listed it in his 2017 reading year roundup, pointing to an op-ed by Postman's son on the book's Huxley argument.
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This book has 2 recommendations
Austin Kleon (Writer, artist)
Earlier this year Postman’s son Andrew wrote an op-ed with the title, “My dad predicted Trump in 1985 — it’s not Orwell, he warned, it’s Brave New World.” Postman wrote: “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”
On Patrick Collison’s Bookshelf - Patrick Collison
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Austin Kleon, Patrick Collison