Media, Information and Technoculture 3222A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Attention Economy, Neil Postman, Consumerism

• School: Western University
• Department: Media, Information and Technoculture
• Course: Media, Information and Technoculture 3222A/B
• Professor: Tiara Sukhan

Document Summary

Critique: entertainment as attacking literary culture: amusements, not intellectualism, television has these rules, no prerequisites, no perplexing themes, no exposition, entertainment as the (cid:862)pre(cid:448)aili(cid:374)g (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)er(cid:374)(cid:863) for (cid:272)o(cid:374)te(cid:374)t, affects education, ruins critical thinking. Neil postman: amusing ourselves to death (foreword: there are benefits and disadvantages to both ways of inhabiting the world. Why do we like watching horror movies: paying good money to be made uncomfortable, the thrill, encounter with death on screen, curiosity, speaks to our anxieties, confront fear. If e(cid:374)tertai(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t is (cid:858)pla(cid:455)(cid:859) for adults, it e(cid:454)plai(cid:374)s e(cid:374)jo(cid:455)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t of (cid:858)u(cid:374)pleasa(cid:374)t(cid:859) e(cid:374)tertai(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t to some degree. Binge watching of television is becoming a new norm: half of those studied binged a season in a week, ca(cid:374)(cid:859)t help getti(cid:374)g su(cid:272)ked i(cid:374) Entertainment as utopia: what happens in entertainment narratives allows us to work through tensions and anxieties of daily life, note: this only works if the shows reflect real-world issues.