Question

what is the thesis of future Schlock by Neil postman?

Answer 1

Neil Postman wrote an essay “Future Shlock” which mainly focused on how Americans have lost some of their intelligence through the use of media. He discusses that how television is the main source of information for the general public these days but, all that should be knowledgeable and insightful is turned into a production for the audience.

The voice behind this essay is passionate as he figures out the flaws of the media. He  wanted us to really understand what has happened in today’s society and how we go to the television for seeking majority of our information. People are less inclined to collect or obtain their information through print media and have instead turned to the television as the major source.  He says what they acquire by simply watching something and listening along.

Postman was also able to give some relevant support for his essay. He starts off with providing examples of two movies that are relatively connected to his topic of how society has changed along with the advent of technology. The first one, The god must be Crazy, focuses on a tribe in the Desert called Kalahari, that have found a coke bottle that has fallen away  from the sky and they become obsessed with this object as they have seen this never before. The tribe soon becomes torn apart as people want this bottle to themselves that in the end the chief throws it over a mountain in order to maintaining the peace.  Through this movie, what happens to the society when a new  technology is introduce is depicted in the simple and most convincing manner.

Whereas Postman employed the film ‘The producers’ as his second example in his essay.

“Future Shlock” was totally an effective essay. He was able to provide a great deal of support for the way that the media has turned everything into a production for the viewers that people miss the point behind the message.

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