Amusing Ourselves to Death is a novel created by Neil Postman that argues that television has transformed public discourse into entertainment, and as a result, politics, religion, education, and journalism are reduced to amusement. In the novel, Postman explains how television has turned politics and politicians into both advertising and mindless entertainment. Which is an aspect in the book I personally find extremely interesting and relevant today. Postman writes,
“Political figures show up anywhere at any time doing anything without being thought odd, or in any way out of place. Which is to say, they have become assimilated into general television culture as celebrities.” (p.132)
I chose this quote because it clearly shows Postman’s idea that television has turned our political figures into entertainment and changed, but we don’t seem to mind. He said that they could show up anywhere at anytime doing anything and I thought of our current political leaders we’ve been seeing. They’re on the feeds of our social media doing trends, on talk shows shaming their opposing sides, and in special events. We all think it’s normal, which is what Postman warned us about, we wont take politics seriously because we view our political leaders as celebrities, so we also judge them as one, focusing on their looks and personality, not their actual values.