In this chapter, Postman asserts that television has directly attacked literary culture, and television has traded logic and analytical thinking for entertainment. One part of the chapter that I found particularly insightful was when Postman uses televised courtroom trials to further his argument. He states “a rape trial was televised, to the delight of audiences who could barely tell the difference between the trial and their favorite mid-day soap opera” (Postman 69). I find this point to be striking because it seems absurd that an act as gruesome as rape would be griping television. Courtroom television shows such as Judge Judy are some of the longest running and successful shows on television. Yet, the nature of court trials seem bland and boring. However, directors have found ways to dramatize such proceedings making them appear like a “soap-opera”. When in reality, they are very real events and are deeply personal and consequential to the parties involved.
Attention part 3 brought up interesting points. The idea that attention is a commodity rather than an experience sparked my attention. Comparing attention to a commodity such as wheat or corn seems nonsensical. However, the more I thought about it the more connections I saw between the two. For starters, all commodities consist of finite amounts. Are attention spans are no different. Because we have so many things vying for our attention, there is a limited amount we can invest in each specific thing. The expansion of tech has made our attention span more valuable and profitable than ever.
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