But onto the true point of this post... The quote below really caught my attention.
"We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant."
I am a bit confused on what exactly this means. What I think Postman is trying to say is that we pay more attention to a cultures significant items rather than the less valuable and insignificant and I believe that's false. We are so critical and judgmental that we as a society will pay more attention to flaws and things we don't personally like. As Maria said in one of her comments, "Unfortunately we as people cant help but criticize what we don't like."
If my interpretation is incorrect, please comment and tell me your insight.
Please and thank you.
Again, I want to point out that Postman is NOT TRYING TO SAY something; he IS SAYING something. His language is clear. WE are the ones who are struggling -- not Postman. And I'm sorry, but your interpretation is NOT what Postman means.
ReplyDeleteDestiny, it is impossible to take ONE sentence out of an argument, take away all of its context, and then try to discuss it. You have taken his carefully crafted argument, pulled out one line, and then wrangled it to the ground, like a cowboy roping a calf, to make it mean what you want it to mean.
My advice is to read the entire argument again. I'll keep an eye on this post to see if someone chimes in to help you. You may want to look at the comment section of Ariel's post just before this one. I'm about to put down some readability stats for Neil Postman.
Listen, you are not alone. Year after year, students struggle with understanding Postman. But I put that Wordle I made the other day on Facebook, and my kids are looking back at their summer of Neil Postman with great memories. No doubt they are happy it is over, but they look back at this summer as really foundational, and they are all either working away on their degrees or they have graduated and are doing big things in the world. That will be you one day. But you're going to have to put in some work first. You don't get to be smarter by just doing the same old thing.
"And so, I raise no objection to television's junk. The best things on television are its junk, and no one and nothing is seriously threatened by it. Besides, we do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant. Therein is our problem, for television is at its most trivial and, therefore, most dangerous when its aspirations are high, when it presents itself as a carrier of important cultural conversations. The irony here is that this is what intellectuals and critics are constantly urging television to do."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this comment, I have to say that I completely agree with you.
DeleteWhen I said TRYING I didn't mean really mean that he was TRYING to say his point . I know that his words are clear and that I, the reader, am the one struggling. I didn't mean to butcher his work and I didn't realize that maybe I should've considered everything else before and after the quote...
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DeleteThank you for commenting and giving me your judgment. I really appreciate it.
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