AOTD Ch 5 After reading Ch5, complete the Study Questions (Part 1) below

As Postman moves from Chs 3-4 into Ch5, his analysis switches its attention to a society and culture dominated by television, ie. audio-visual media vs. typographic. Chs 1-4 provided ample media-analytical and historical context for the presentation and elaboration of his Central Thesis (of the book), in Ch5. This is the general format of many academic works, first the scholar lays our their theoretical framework and then goes on to apply the theory in analysis of case studies (Part II of AOTD). (Tip/HW: Take a look at the Table of Contents and see if you can predict what Postman will be dealing with, based on the chapter titles).

Ch5 completes Part One of AOTD–we will then undertake some class-wide discussions of the key concepts introduced, in preparation for Part II.

After reading Ch5, complete the Study Questions (Part 1) below

IMPORTANT: For all HW Study Questions, include questions on your homework. Also, be sure to provide well-explained text evidence (quotes with page number). Also review comments on previous assignments, as grading on these Study Questions will get more stringent as we proceed. [Reminder(2): ANY unknown words used in this class are students’ responsibility to look up, in the interest of continuing to build academic vocabulary]

CH5

1. Explain Info-action ratio and give examples of high vs. low ratios.
2. Explain “decontextualized” info–how does it fit into the main points Postman is making in Ch5?
3. Explain command center. Is TV still our culture’s command center?
4. What is the peek-a-boo factor? Give an example of Peek-a-boo from Postman, AS WELL as an example how the peek-a-boo factor affects your world.