Amusing Ourselves

My academic library had a physical copy of Neil Postman’s classic 1985 text that I flipped through, but like Filterworld, I chose to listen to Amusing Ourselves to Death as an audiobook on Spotify. Postman (building on McLuhan) describes how the medium of television had shaped culture and the content it presented. Media criticism in this vein has enjoyed some rejuvenated purpose in recent times, given changes in social media, legacy news, and streaming content.

In one chapter, Postman describes the Lincoln/Douglas debates as public events in which both parties offered multi-hour responses to each other. Postman wondered who these audiences were that could “so cheerfully accommodate themselves to seven hours of oratory.” Was there any American audience who could today (then, 1985) “endure seven hours of talk” and “comprehend lengthy and complex sentences aurally”? While my listening sessions were segmented, this was how I experienced Postman’s four hour & forty-eight minute book.

When audiobooks were limited to tapes and CDs, my brain would drift to other thoughts while I waited for narrators to finish a sentence. It’s entirely possible that I pay attention less closely, but now with apps that can adjust playback speed, I can better handle this medium. Chores, showers, and commutes–activities previously reserved for weekly podcasts supported by Viagra and sports gambling ads–are now more frequently including books.