Hello everyone! I am currently reading AOTD and in chapter one I noticed that Neil Postman talks about our 27th President and how he probably would not be elected today because of what he looks like. I agree with all the points that Postman makes but what I don’t understand is why we care about how someone looks. We shouldn’t be focused on his appearance we should be focused on the quality of his work and his beliefs. Are we so shallow that we can’t get passed what someone looks like and move onto the greater aspects of that person? In my opinion we should be focused on the mind because it has so many things to offer. Your appearance and the things you have can change but the beauty of your mind will always be there. Television has played a major role in society because we care more about appearance than their morals.
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Saturday, August 2, 2014
Mind over Matter
Hello everyone! I am currently reading AOTD and in chapter one I noticed that Neil Postman talks about our 27th President and how he probably would not be elected today because of what he looks like. I agree with all the points that Postman makes but what I don’t understand is why we care about how someone looks. We shouldn’t be focused on his appearance we should be focused on the quality of his work and his beliefs. Are we so shallow that we can’t get passed what someone looks like and move onto the greater aspects of that person? In my opinion we should be focused on the mind because it has so many things to offer. Your appearance and the things you have can change but the beauty of your mind will always be there. Television has played a major role in society because we care more about appearance than their morals.
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Agreed. That is why there are all these commercials and advertisements that present themselves in a presentable manner. Even education programs and talk shows are not necessarily engaging in what is being studied but more on how people appear. However, in today's culture, truth and wisdom are not always pleasant for entertainment. Televised affairs are more focused on how to please their viewers.
ReplyDeleteLooks shouldn't matter but they do. Since the beginning of time they've mattered. We get up every morning and brush our teeth, get dressed, fix our hair, and so on without really thinking about why we do it. As humans, we see someone and instantly assess and ultimately judge and form a bias on the person. We'd all love to deny it but most of us can't. Looks are all about the impression you will create for yourself before you even open your mouth and share your mind. I don't think appearance is something anyone purposely uses to form an opinion about another. However, we create our thoughts regardless. Looks matter. It's sad and true.
ReplyDeleteI think you all make very good points! While choosing people based on their ability and not on their looks would benefit the world a lot more, our minds have gotten so used to using looks as a first impression of people. We base almost all of our first thoughts when meeting a new person on their looks. Their clothes, their weight, their height, their hair, their facial features.... everything. We rarely see average looking actresses or singers because the entertainment business is first and foremost worried about appearance, then talent. And politics have become the same way. Presidential candidates do as much as they possibly can to appeal to different age groups. In the last campaign, Obama focused his attention on the 18 - 25 year age group and began doing more interviews in popular magazines and appearing on more live talk shows. He even started to dress a bit differently when he would make these appearances, which was just another way for him to appeal to the younger voters, and it obviously worked it very well him. I think this is just something we have to learn to deal with as our society becomes more and more materialistic and superficial.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Everyone worries so much about what themselves and others look like. Today in society, looks are more important than anything. From simple things like magazine ads to big commercials, the company always puts in people that appeal the eye. It's sad to say, but a majority of people probably wouldn't buy a product, if the person sponsoring it or in the ads were not good looking. Our minds on set to be like perfect people when in reality everyone is different and can never be perfect.
ReplyDeleteI agree very much with your statement, Kayla. People are so caught up in what their appearances are, they don't even take the time to realize that there is more to it than the physical aspect. This society will go out of their way to make themselves look better than the next because they're so worried about what other people will say or think of them. Although our knowledge is powerful, society will think it will not be as powerful as our appearances.
ReplyDeleteThis is also what I interpreted from the book. I was surprised how well he described this problem in our society . Most of the time we consider the value of things by how well it looks and that clouds are judgment. I completely agree on paying more attention to the mind so we can find true quality.
ReplyDeleteI agree, our society is so obsessed with looks. From surgeries and facelifts, to clothing and makeup. Everyone wants to be like these icons we see on television and in magazines. People have trouble accepting themselves when they are compared to these lovely actors, actresses, and models. What many people do not realize, is that many of these models and movie stars are edited and photo shopped. Our society needs to stop promoting looks over quality because it is not only ruining many people's self esteem, but it is also affecting our younger generations. They grow up thinking they need to look a certain way and even act a certain way, but what they don’t realize is that ability and talent is more important than appearances.
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