Postman v Paglia

I am a little biased, and as much as I agreed with Neil Postman in the past, Camille Paglia made a very compelling argument that brought a different perspective to my ideas on the argument on the written word versus the image. Postman and Paglia were the perfect example of what modern (Postman) and what postmodern (Paglia) ideas look like. Personally, I have always been an advocate for the written word over the spoken, but the strength images play into our everyday lives is daunting and Paglia shows how evasive it really can be. When the argument starts off with the two Bible verses, I thought it was very intriguing the way she mentioned how nature and all its pleasant and unpleasant images came before any Word of God. Pagan images and idols were more accessible to the people, and one can see why Moses had to lead everyone out of this "cultist" environment to succeed with his intentions for the Ten Commandments and the written word.

I agree with Postman in that the utilization of certain images and symbols in commercial aspects "drain the symbol[s] of the very meanings" (287). Particularly it is with the religious symbols that I believe should not be used. His idea of using Jesus to promote Gallo Pinot Noir was a great example of how ridiculous it seems to use such a highly respected figure in a capitalist commercial way. It almost comes off as a perversion of the religious icon. Companies don't even really need these kinds of icons to promote their products.

When Paglia argues that "popular culture is an eruption of paganism," I thought this was another critical point in her argument that made a lot of sense to me (288). The twentieth century in the Western world has created these images and celebrities for us to follow in almost a cult-like fashion. Elvis Presley and the birth of rock 'n' roll thrust these pop culture icons into the mass media spotlight. We continue to look towards Hollywood stars as role models. Celebrity endorsements have become a huge industry on its own. In advertisements, companies use these celebrities to encompass what they are trying to promote, and use the celebrity icon as their own product icon.

What I really liked about Paglia's argument was that she seemed to really put into perspective to someone of modern thinking how powerful and influential television and images can be. She equated TV to the constant fire in the hearth in the home (289). I know that I stopped watching TV for a long time, simply because I had a deeper appreciation for movies. Movies are in a sense a translation of the novel into moving images. But nowadays when my TV is on, it is simply background noise, and I only really pay attention when something catches my attention. I may not remember everything, but I remember certain details. She doesn't see TV as some crisis to our intellect.

I agree with Postman on their last point about how a big part of teaching in education is getting any hold of the student's attention. I remember taking a Poli 100 class and there was a video shown on The Constitution and the Founding Fathers. As boring as the subject may be to college students, the way the video presented these topics actually made it interesting, and comprehensible. But it took drama, constant moving images all over the screen, humor, and music to keep me awake. I did feel like it dumbed down the context of what we were learning about, but that is what Postman’s argument is about. As long as we get the gist of it all then that is all that matters these days in academic settings for students, and to many professors this is a good thing, but to those like Postman it is a horrible consequence of those living in a fragmented and disconnected reality.

THE LONGEST DAY

This assignment was not so difficult for me to accomplish, but I cheated a little bit. My longest day consisted of a lot of shopping, eating, reading, and sleeping. I was on spring break vacation in Boston and had a busy day already planned. I knew I was not going to be using my cell phone much during the entire week I was there, but I purposefully picked the day I would be the most busy.

After waking up after a very very good and long night's rest, I had to restrain myself from automatically going to my laptop on the kitchen table and start checking messages and the news. Instead, I lounged for a little bit before making breakfast. I had an advantage to my situation since the people that I was going to be hanging out with were already in the apartment I was staying in. I had already been there for a couple days and my friend flew in the day before. There was no need to call or plan. Instead, we all discussed plans to go out and decided to go to Newbury Street for some intense shopping downtown. My one friend had to leave early to go to class but we made it clear that I would see him back at his place when he was out.

I was in the city so where I would normally have slipped on my iPod headphones, I conversed with my friend sitting next to me. Because we were out of our element there was a lot to comment on about our surroundings and other places to visit. When we got back, my friend showed up back from class a little while later, we went out to dinner, and headed out to lounges where music was blasting over big speakers.

It’s unfair to say that I rightfully accomplished this task. I was surrounded by people whom I could interact with without having to pursue human contact through the internet. I was with someone who was familiar with the area, so there was no need for me to look up addresses and maps online. I filled up my day so I would not have sat at home staring at walls all day long. Plus, I was on vacation and I usually do not worry about using cell phones and iPods and the internet as much as I would if I were back home. Despite my instinctive compulsive need to check messages constantly, I had constant face-to-face human interaction to soak up my attention. There was a moment where a cell phone would have been essentially necessary to let my friend know that we were coming back to the apartment, but I already had a copy of the key so there was no need.

I found it interesting to see how much of a big (and sometimes very subtle) role music had in my every day life. Going in and out of shops there were some that had music blasting, and other stores where there was complete silence except for the occasional screeching of hangers on a wire rack, or the rustling of other shoppers trying on clothes. Music adds to the image of the type of person that shops at certain places. It tells the consumer that the type of person who would ideally shop there would listen to this kind of music. It defined the type of people that were at the lounges I went to at night.

So much for “struggling” with this task, I do remember when it was extremely hard for me to deal with a lack of technology in my daily life. Whenever there are blackouts in my house I have such a hard time handling it. Your world simply shrinks because all you have are the basic things in front of you. We are always looking for things to occupy our mind and time, and to not have access to so many things we depend on for entertainment is tough, and even stressful. Boredom ensues, and most resort to sleeping. I am forced to go back to a hobby of my childhood-reading books.

Despite how I approached this assignment, I still learned a couple things. One is that I have this need to be updated all the time. I check for the news constantly through the day, so the next day I felt so disconnected with the world. There was so much to catch up on and it was a little daunting to have missed so much that had happened in one day. It felt like time slowed down since there was nothing to essentially be used as “fillers” like how TV and radio can be. Planning was also a very big important thing I had to deal with. With the advent of cell phones, spontaneity and last minute changes to plans were feasible and now made common. Instead of changing plans, I would find myself to have to wait until I met up friends later to make sure everyone was on the same page. It delayed things and the fact that I had to wait drove me crazy. Our dependence on media has created a lack of patience and an acute attention deficit disorder among the public.

The fact that I couldn’t check my Facebook drove me crazy. I know that whenever I am online and even working on this assignment as I write this, I occasionally simply click on my Facebook link to check for any updates. It really is a compulsion. When I am home I am somehow attached to some type of electronic media all the time, whether it is music playing or me looking up something on the internet. I literally have to leave my house to get away from this type of attachment because it has become such an integral part of my life. I hate silence. My dependence on the media is huge, but I have also come to remember that there are other things I can do to serve the same purposes as electronic media.

SPEECH vs WRITING

Speech reigns over writing in today’s society. Throughout history there seems to be ebb and flow between which medium is valued more, and which has a bigger role in society. While I personally believe that writing has more contextual value than speech, the spoken word is currently the “superior” means of communication. For the sake of argument, speech resonates within an individual what writing was known to do in the past. It was able to stir up some type of image or passion that could connect with an individual on a deep personal level. The written word still has this impact, but because of how today’s society functions the written word is marginalized in value. It is now the spoken word that is scrutinized and studied more, and a lot of that has to do with the effect of the utilization of new medias by the spoken world.

When it comes to personal communication, the spoken word reigns supreme due to the impacts of different communication tools. Cell phones have come a long way from when they first came out. Before all you had to do was simply punch in numbers and you could call someone on the other end of the line, easy as that. Now there are camera/video recording features, music downloading, emails, game features, and the list goes on. With the advent of the text messaging feature many people have switched to prefer that over making a real phone call. While text messaging may seem like a popular aspect to use on a cell phone, this has in turn given rise to the value placed on the spoken word instead of marginalizing it. Text messages and mobile IMs have replaced the quick two-minute phone conversation that can have the same message relayed by a couple words abbreviated for the cell phone text.

By absorbing that specific aspect of (personal) cell phone communication, it has made it clearer that a phone call is ideally an intimate personal outreach. Instead of sending a quick message inviting groups of people to an event, a personal phone call makes it clear to that person on the receiving end that they really are wanted at this event. There is a value placed on the phone call and the willingness for a verbal outreach because in today’s society, communication is done through the written word.

Emails and memos have a similar effect as text messaging has on communicating with others. Of course it is not possible to keep up with everyone by speaking to them, but the massive amounts of emails sent out on a daily basis have really dulled interpersonal communications in the office. But because of this affect, there is a certain appreciation for taking time out from working or sending more emails to directly talk with fellow workers, bosses, employees, clients, etc. Whether it is about work or about the game from the previous night, the need for human contact is inevitable and necessary. Human connection and personal communication has once again become intimate. Vocal communication personalizes the relationship

The TV and YouTube have to be the spoken word’s godsend. While there are masses and masses of the printed word exposed on the internet, there is a loss of productivity when focusing on reading one article at a time. Our nation’s ability to multi-task permits us to chat, email, and watch videos all day long. The presidential election this year is a prime example of how the spoken word is valued most through countless debates and rallies to convey their ideas and round up voters. Journalists and anchors scrutinize these speeches and debates down to the tiniest chuckle and laugh. The power of the public is extremely strong in our democracy that it forces candidates to rehearse over and over again their practiced responses in these live debates. A quick slip-up and it could prove shaky grounds for you, or even cost you the race. Maybe Andrew Robinson might have been amused by the idea that as much as Thoth hated writing, he would have hated video ten times worse because it further created the non-stop repeatable reminder for all to see (Origins (36).

While I took on the approach that speech was valued more than the written word, I honestly believe that with all the new media outlets available today thanks to technology, it is not so necessary to have a debate on which is “better.” I completely agree with Gardner when he thinks that “we need to overcome the perils of dualistic thinking, the notion that what lies ahead is either a utopia or a dystopia.” People are constantly on the go these days. Is the reading public going to really die out because of books we can listen to on tapes and CDs? I don’t think so. It is simply another means of getting information, and it is refreshing how we have so many ways to access the same material. Literacy is not going to die, but there other ways to approach accessing certain media.

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Sorry for posting this late, but the blog I decided to follow is The Huffington Post. I chose this blog because it's fairly popular, and it's the right blend of politics and entertainment. I usually read blogs that are either all about politics or all about media gossip, so I thought I would start reading one that had both. Arianna Huffington is one of the co-founders of the post, the editor-in-chief, and it is named after her. The blog is basically full of commentaries on what is going on in the world of politics and pop culture. There are a lot of celebrities that post on this site, like Rosie O'Donnell and Alec Baldwin along with popular writers for big papers like The New Yorker. There are videos and links and it is constantly updated. There are bios of all the writers with each article. I think that this blog is a good example of what it looks like to blend celebrities and the media and politics. In the past they were kept for the most part separate, but the Post brings them all together to voice their opinions in their blog posts, especially with what's going on with the election.

MY VERY FIRST BLOG POST!

HI EVERYONE!!

My name's Christine, I'm 20 (almost 21 soon!!) and a junior at UMBC. I'm a MCS major and Poli Sci minor. I commute to campus after a not so pleasant first year living here. I was going to transfer out to College Park since I live closer to there anyways, but it would have taken me longer to graduate so I stayed. Plus I fell in love with this subject last spring and when I found out it was a full major it cemented my decision to stay. After I graduate I plan on getting a job with some type of media company, either in Boston or DC. I would love to work for a consulting company or media productions or a magazine, but it all depends if I want to shoot for a master's or law school.

Right now I work full-time in DC. I'm looking into internships and jobs for the summer or the fall, hopefully with something that blends my concentrations together. I love this major because it allows that flexibility and it just works with so many different fields. I'm a die-hard REDSKINS fan (sorry Ravens), despite their performance the last couple seasons.

I tend to do things randomly and very spontaneously and it comes out when I leave for random trips to different places. I love traveling because I've been in Silver Spring for so long it's nice to get out and see the rest of the world. I feel that in order to be successful there's so much expectation to know everything that's going on in the world and to have some sort of opinion about it. When you're growing up K-12 you learn about different subjects completely separate from each other, like how cultural aspects of a certain time are taught in that context only, aside from the history or politics of the same time period. When I took this class last spring it really blended everything together and you could just see the cause-and-effect trends making so much more sense. So hopefully this class will serve to help in that aspect and to really just make sense about what exactly is going on with these big trends in the world.