Amusing Ourselves to Death Essay

Violent Athletes When Indiana Pacer, Ron Artest, charged into the stands with forty-five seconds remaining in a NBA game, last November, between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, the shock waves reverberated immediately. Video clips showed Artest pummeling Pistons fans with his fists. Replays also revealed that it was fans, throwing a cup of beer at Artest, which sent the NBA superstar on his rampage. It was one of the ugliest incidents ever seen in American professional sports. Sports fans

When people think of tragic plays, the thoughts are often of tragic heroes, hubris, suffering, death, and catharsis. Humorous characters, amusing scenes, and laughter are often not associated with tragedy. Why then does William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, contain numerous aspects of comedy? In many Shakespearean tragedies, the aspects of tragedy are included with the addition of humor. This comedic relief can come through one or more characters or specific scenes in the play and serves as a way

1989, the year Marty McFly went Back to the Future to 2015 and gave us a glimpse of what technology held for us. Well, here we are in 2015 and some predictions were right, others not so much. With these new technologies came consequences, consequences that even Doc Brown could not predict. Technological advances have obvious benefits, for example better security devices to keep people safe or medical advances that prolong lives and combat illness; however, these technologies can also have what is

Living sustainably isn 't always easy. It seems that every aspect of life can be looked at from a sustainable perspective, and when trying to reduce your ecological footprint this can be very overwhelming. Previously, I believed that our values must be redefined to live sustainably, However, this series of lecture reflections made me realize that instead of changing our values to live sustainably, we must apply our current values in a sustainable way! Elizabeth Mrema is an environmental activist

The book begins with Neil Postman describing how the way we communicate, whether it is orally or through written material, has an effect on how we interpret our world. He then goes more specifically into how television has changed our culture. Postman’s intention for writing this book is to “show that a great media-metaphor shift has taken place in America, with the result that the content of much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense”(16). There is no problem with television being

"Sometimes we would have that whole river all to ourselves for the longest time. Yonder was the banks and the islands, across the water; and maybe a spark or two--on a raft or a scow, you know; and maybe you could hear a fiddle or a song coming over from one of them crafts" (Examining the River in Terms

"Sometimes we would have that whole river all to ourselves for the longest time. Yonder was the banks and the islands, across the water; and maybe a spark or two--on a raft or a scow, you know; and maybe you could hear a fiddle or a song coming over from one of them crafts" (Examining the River in Terms

Throughout the years, types of media have gradually changed. One of the most recent changes taking place in the second half of the twentieth century. In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman talks about the change from the age of typography to the age of visual media and how it has greatly impacted the American culture. Postman points out several reasons to support his opinion that the transition has indeed proven to have a negative effect on the American people. How did, what was once

Most people will experience some form of trauma at some point during their childhood. The trauma does not have to be extreme; it could be anything from the death of a beloved fish to the loss of a grandparent. Some children will sadly experience more horrors than these. When our dog died my 3rd grade year, I used my fantastical world to cope with the loss of a friend. We had many great adventures before she

justified. Is Dostoevsky’s argument unconfutable or do you believe that the meaning of life in the world can still be rescued even in the face of radical evil? Leo Tolstoy wrote, ‘life is evil and meaningless.’ ‘Today or tomorrow sickness and death will come to those I love or to me; nothing will remain but stench and worms. Sooner or later my affairs, whatever they may be, will be forgotten, and I shall not exist. Then why go on making any effort? . . . How can man fail to see this? And how