Television Negatively Attacks The Human Mind
Uploaded by spootyhead on Mar 08, 2007
Television Negatively Attacks The Human Mind
In the novel Brave New World, writer Aldous Huxley warns that society will be conditioned to accept a new way of living and to blindly adapt to certain dysfunctional behaviors. Neil Postman, writer of Amusing Ourselves To Death, sees Aldous Huxley’s vision quite possibly coming true in today’s world. The process of conditioning people’s minds and thoughts to behave in a certain way is a major theme that Aldous Huxley illustrates in his novel. Similar to the people in the Brave New World society, we as humans are being conditioned by the effect of television’s portrayal of world issues and current events. The desensitizing and dehumanizing effect of television negatively attacks the minds of humans, allowing large business corporations and political parties to control all of society's thoughts and actions.
Television harmfully affects the minds of humans, eliminating their feelings towards others. In the novel Brave New World, students are conditioned to hate other cultures and believe that their society is “normal”. An example of conditioning students is when John visits geography class filled with Beta-Minus students. It is here that one can clearly see the conditioning being conducted on the children when John illustrates what is happening.
“A click; the room was darkened; and suddenly, on the screen above the master’s head, there were the Penitentes of Acoma prostrating themselves before Our Lady, and wailing as John heard them wail, confessing their sins before Jesus on the cross, before the eagles image of Pookong. The young Etonians fairly shouted with laughter.” (Huxley 146)
John wonders why the children laugh. What John does not know is that the television program the children are watching desensitizes them and, as a result, they are conditioned to respond in a cruel manner.
Another example of conditioning in the novel Brave New World is hypnopaedia. Children are desensitized by listening to sounds containing repeated words while they are sleeping. A similar method of hypnopaedia is watching your television at home. In today’s society children’s eyes are constantly glued to their television screen. Like hypnopaedia they are taught what is “in” and “out”, through advertisements and television programs.
Similar to the novel Brave New World, Neil Postman’s novel, Amusing Ourselves To Death illustrates that television is conditioning the minds of humans and that our society is unaware of this rising problem. Mr. Postman states,
“No matter...