The Age of No Business But Show Business

Neil Postman's article, "The Age of Show Business" questions what a television is and what it is used for. It can be used as "a lamp, a surface for texts, a bookcase, even as a radio" however it is not. Because television is a technology and all technologies have the bias of being made to be used in a particular way, television has become something independent from uses outside watching it.

Sure, there may be entertainment on the television, but it is also used to address serious topics, political topics. Being that nearly every household in has at minimum, one television set it would indeed be the most successful way of spreading news and ideas. And so it is, however it all still comes back to 'entertainment.' Postman writes, "our television set keeps us in constant communication with the world, but it does so with a face whose smiling countenance is unalterable."

What is aired on television are moving images that are designed to be aesthetically-appealing to keep us watching and wanting to come back for more after we turn it off. Even news reports are more than just delivered stories. This is where the problem lies. The problem is that everything presented on television is done in such a way as to make it entertaining. And it's spread through every aspect of life, from food to religion. Neil Postman expands on the subject, "our priests and presidents, our surgeons and lawyers, our educators and newscasters need worry less about satisfying the demands of their discipline than the demands of good showmanship."