The Huxleyan Warning

In Neil Postman's "The Huxleyan Warning", he clearly spells out the negative effects that television has on our culture, turning it into what he calls a "population distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments…" I agree with Postman's argument to an extent. He believes that television in every form is bad, and it would only be useful if it became worse. If everything on television became a serious topic or discussion, it would no longer truly be entertainment. I do think that our culture has fixated on this entertainment too much, but I think that a little distraction here and there isn't a bad thing. Not everything has to mean something or have some sort of important message, and I think Postman fails to acknowledge this in his writing. I do agree with his questioning of who would stop a culture being overtaken by entertainment. He says, "Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter?" I think he makes a very good point. Just like in Brave New World, no one would complain about it because they are constantly happy, constantly being satisfied by their every need. Instant gratification at its finest. If this was to ever happen to our culture, would we be noble enough to rise up against it? These are the important points Postman makes that I do agree with.