The Information Age
In The Disappearance of Childhood, Neil Postman observes that there are no children, and for that matter, no old people, on television. This statement articulated a phenomenon which has had my attention for some time, but which I have been unable to clearly articulate. That is to say, although there are very young and very old actors in television and film, their mannerisms, clothing, sexual appetites, and general attitudes are not noticeably different from the average adults being depicted, who are themselves childlike and simplistic examples of subhumanity. The connection between adulthood and literacy, which Postman clearly makes as fundamental to his thesis, is so blindingly obvious once it has been exposed, but I have to confess that it came as a shock, although not a surprise, to me. The scholar uses an analogy that compares the discoveries of Darwin and Morse, which is highly instructive in making clear precisely what it is that we face in the “Information Age.”
“As I write, millions of Americans are engaged in a struggle to defame the assumptions embodied in Darwinian thought. That their struggle is in vain and pathetic is not the point, which is, simply, that one can live without believing in evolution. But everyone must confront the conditions of electronic communication. No matter where or how one lives, or by what creed, it is Morse, not Darwin, who dictates how one’s affairs must be managed and how one’s consciousness must be directed. ... For there is this difference between Darwin and Morse: Darwin offered us ideas embodied in language. His ideas were explicit, arguable, and refutable. Indeed, they have been publicly debated since the 1860s in lecture halls, classrooms, and even courtrooms. But Morse offered us ideas embodied in technology, which is to say they were HIDDEN FROM VIEW [emphasis mine] and therefore never argued. Morse’s ideas were, in a sense, irrefutable, because no one knew that electronic communication implied any ideas.”
-Postman
Which, of course, it does. But more important is what electronic communication does NOT imply, namely the delayed gratification, concentration, and ability to logically connect one concept to another which are all essential characteristics of literacy, the art of grappling with text.
In the absence of “childhood” and “maturity,” we have “cool” and “uncool.” As children’s movies and television become more sophisticated and enjoyable to adults, the concept of a “kid’s movie” or a “kid’s show” is also beginning to vanish. Those true “kid’s shows” which once existed, though inane, were, like Barney and the Teletubbies, VICIOUSLY attacked by “cool” evening comedy programming, in disgusting display of casual cruelty. Children quickly get the message that “kid’s stuff” isn’t “cool,” and are taught to mock and brutalize it by “cool” television. What else isn’t “cool,” according to television programming? Well, books, school, homework, parents... you know... adult stuff. This attitude persists long into people’s lives, and those 80’s babies are nothing compared to the nihilistic youth which are, even now, watching snuff flicks, browsing crime scene photos, and looking at asian girls fuck animals on the internet.
Democracy depends on literacy. This is one of its many fundamental flaws. Television, in other words, has destroyed democracy. I could make arguments to back that up, but if you disagree you’re a dipshit whose not paying attention, so I won’t bother. The original reason for “voting age” was essentially grounded in the notion that someone without adequate critical thinking skills (the crucial component of “literacy,” which is something far more complex than merely being able to read) could not be relied upon to make sound political judgements. The present American President is an example of what happens when you put an illiterate person in power. Mahmood Abbas, in an interview with CBC, observed that Bush was, in his words, “like a child.” That is to say, when Abbas confronted the President about the Israelis illegal barrier, he was not sympathetic. It wasn’t until they made their case with pictures and colorful maps, that is, with IMAGES (you see?) he could visually apprehend, that he began to understand what the Palestinian Authority was trying to tell him.
In a way, I feel bad for George Bush. I remember hearing a speech that he gave to a group of educators before 9/11. I was thoroughly charmed. He was ingratiating and self-deprecating, making fun of a few of his own mispoken words that were, even then, the subject of much ridicule. I’m certain that the last eight years have destroyed whatever pleasant nature the man once had, which is terribly unfair, because he was never CAPABLE of doing the job he was charged with in the first place. If a sheep is incapable of teaching Euclid, perhaps someone should take away his cap and gown, put him out to pasture, and go find a mathematician for the job. Whatever charm the animal may posses should not be an excuse to avoid this, unless, of course, you’re living in a democracy.
Ultimately, mass media in the form of images makes democracy practically impossible as an effective system of government. I would hazard a guess that it’s impossible anyway, and a stupid idea to begin with, but thankfully we DO live in an illiterate mass media culture and the question is irrelevant. A literate culture can process information, evaluate it, take their time with it, and make reasonable judgements based on their values and needs. On television, image after image flashes by leaving no time to react, or worse, having one’s reactions dictated almost entirely by the accompanying music. People are as unconscious of their own values are they are of the values which motivate the composition of the images they bear witless witness to.
This situation is not likely to change, but the plutocracy has done something useful: It has created a culture which responds quickly and easily to a language of images which a critically thinking literate person can easily learn and manipulate to the end of manifesting their Will. Don’t blame sheep for being sheep! Blame the lazy shepherd who complains of a straying flock while withholding the blow from his crook!
“As I write, millions of Americans are engaged in a struggle to defame the assumptions embodied in Darwinian thought. That their struggle is in vain and pathetic is not the point, which is, simply, that one can live without believing in evolution. But everyone must confront the conditions of electronic communication. No matter where or how one lives, or by what creed, it is Morse, not Darwin, who dictates how one’s affairs must be managed and how one’s consciousness must be directed. ... For there is this difference between Darwin and Morse: Darwin offered us ideas embodied in language. His ideas were explicit, arguable, and refutable. Indeed, they have been publicly debated since the 1860s in lecture halls, classrooms, and even courtrooms. But Morse offered us ideas embodied in technology, which is to say they were HIDDEN FROM VIEW [emphasis mine] and therefore never argued. Morse’s ideas were, in a sense, irrefutable, because no one knew that electronic communication implied any ideas.”
-Postman
Which, of course, it does. But more important is what electronic communication does NOT imply, namely the delayed gratification, concentration, and ability to logically connect one concept to another which are all essential characteristics of literacy, the art of grappling with text.
In the absence of “childhood” and “maturity,” we have “cool” and “uncool.” As children’s movies and television become more sophisticated and enjoyable to adults, the concept of a “kid’s movie” or a “kid’s show” is also beginning to vanish. Those true “kid’s shows” which once existed, though inane, were, like Barney and the Teletubbies, VICIOUSLY attacked by “cool” evening comedy programming, in disgusting display of casual cruelty. Children quickly get the message that “kid’s stuff” isn’t “cool,” and are taught to mock and brutalize it by “cool” television. What else isn’t “cool,” according to television programming? Well, books, school, homework, parents... you know... adult stuff. This attitude persists long into people’s lives, and those 80’s babies are nothing compared to the nihilistic youth which are, even now, watching snuff flicks, browsing crime scene photos, and looking at asian girls fuck animals on the internet.
Democracy depends on literacy. This is one of its many fundamental flaws. Television, in other words, has destroyed democracy. I could make arguments to back that up, but if you disagree you’re a dipshit whose not paying attention, so I won’t bother. The original reason for “voting age” was essentially grounded in the notion that someone without adequate critical thinking skills (the crucial component of “literacy,” which is something far more complex than merely being able to read) could not be relied upon to make sound political judgements. The present American President is an example of what happens when you put an illiterate person in power. Mahmood Abbas, in an interview with CBC, observed that Bush was, in his words, “like a child.” That is to say, when Abbas confronted the President about the Israelis illegal barrier, he was not sympathetic. It wasn’t until they made their case with pictures and colorful maps, that is, with IMAGES (you see?) he could visually apprehend, that he began to understand what the Palestinian Authority was trying to tell him.
In a way, I feel bad for George Bush. I remember hearing a speech that he gave to a group of educators before 9/11. I was thoroughly charmed. He was ingratiating and self-deprecating, making fun of a few of his own mispoken words that were, even then, the subject of much ridicule. I’m certain that the last eight years have destroyed whatever pleasant nature the man once had, which is terribly unfair, because he was never CAPABLE of doing the job he was charged with in the first place. If a sheep is incapable of teaching Euclid, perhaps someone should take away his cap and gown, put him out to pasture, and go find a mathematician for the job. Whatever charm the animal may posses should not be an excuse to avoid this, unless, of course, you’re living in a democracy.
Ultimately, mass media in the form of images makes democracy practically impossible as an effective system of government. I would hazard a guess that it’s impossible anyway, and a stupid idea to begin with, but thankfully we DO live in an illiterate mass media culture and the question is irrelevant. A literate culture can process information, evaluate it, take their time with it, and make reasonable judgements based on their values and needs. On television, image after image flashes by leaving no time to react, or worse, having one’s reactions dictated almost entirely by the accompanying music. People are as unconscious of their own values are they are of the values which motivate the composition of the images they bear witless witness to.
This situation is not likely to change, but the plutocracy has done something useful: It has created a culture which responds quickly and easily to a language of images which a critically thinking literate person can easily learn and manipulate to the end of manifesting their Will. Don’t blame sheep for being sheep! Blame the lazy shepherd who complains of a straying flock while withholding the blow from his crook!