The debate is raged over a meal of fish at a restaurant which adds a nice backdrop to the conversation at hand. Their food selection occasionally makes its way into the conversation and does a wonderful job of separating issues, basically as a new food comes a new part of the debate begins. Now, that's all I have to say about the setting it's time to explain why Paglia is absolutely correct in this argument.
The debate begins with a verse from the Bible "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"-John 1:3. Paglia immediately attacks this statement saying that "In the beginning was nature" which she says creates opposition, whether it is via an image, such as an idol, or something else, and this Nature (yes, a capital N) "predates and stands in opposition to the ordered, structured world created by the word." I believe she is correct in this; the world may be under control by word, but nature will always control the variables of the world. By this I mean that nature will always be able to control everything that can change in the world and these are the thing that Word fights to control.
The next argument, though it has nothing to do with television but everything to do with proving word is not superior, of Paglia that caught my attention was the mentioning of Martin Luther being an example against Word. Traditionally Martin Luther is associated with the rise of written language and literacy, as well as breaking free from oral theocracy of the times, in religion through his use of the printing press to spread his message and religion. Paglia took a different approach, stating that visual imagery, an early comparison to television, spread among the "poor, outcast, and unlearned" which is what led to idolatry and the Protestant Reformation.
Paglia's next argument put me firmly on her side. When Postman argues that the challenge in literacy is to get children accustomed to sitting still so they can be literate, Paglia argues that while many people are just naturally inclined of the sedentary lifestyle required by reading, many others are brilliant but have learning deficiencies can use physical activities and other visual art forms to express themselves. I am one who cannot sit still when reading. I am not going to lie when reading the essay I sat, leaned on and laid down on my bed among others things just to keep focused on finishing and taking in everything in the reading. I use my camera to show my emotions and express myself, and I enjoy allowing my movies to stir emotions in people and allow them to want to go and express themselves too, literacy doesn't ned to be the only form of expression in this world et alone this country.
I found myself thinking similar to Paglia as well, she talks about needing to have the television on and/or headphones blasting rock music on to write her paper. I myself, half the time, find i have had the television on while writing a paper and when I turn it off it feels too quiet so I turn it back on. I also enjoy, like most current high school and college students, listening to my iPod as I work, for some reason it helps me focus. It has also helped here at school because as Paglia herself put it, rather well I may add, "TV is a medium that makes us feel at home".
Lets face it television is a large part of our society, Paglia says people in our society today know how to read television. She brings up the example of the 1988 presidential election when everyone was calling George H.W. Bush a wimp or a ninny just trying to chase the shadow of Ronald Reagan. Paglia points out how Bush transformed before everyones eyes when he picked Dan Quayle (later on of Murphy Brown fame) as his running mate. When Bush picked him he had made a "rite de passage" on and for television. Paglia says Bush became a new man, stern confident, and "completely in charge" all because he had picked a symbolical son on National television. She continues to say that if you didn't know how to read television you would have completely missed the entire transformation.
The final issue in which Paglia and I agree is that the ideal education should be logocentric. By this it is meant that, according to Paglia, "The student must learn the logical, hierarchal system." TV will then allow the other part of the mind to freely move outside of the system. She says television based culture culture can develop mental flexibility, to which I agree, children must learn how to deal with concepts that are on television such as what is right and what is wrong, figuring out how to solve issues before them, and even understanding that the television is not reality. TV is not reality but is as close and true to reality as one is going to get, by the way it asks you to change emotions so quickly and abruptly, it allows us to put a different look on life, which is why I feel television beats print.
1 comment:
I also agreed with Paglia for many of the same reasons that you did. I thought the point in which she brought up Martin Luther as being a top figure in the literacy revolution was a very valid point but could we also give credit to Russian inventor Léon Theremin for his contribution to literacy in the advancement of the television or the founders and CEOs of the ABC, NBC, and CBS corporations which own and operate all of television in general. I think that Paglia’s cunning and sometimes arbitrary conversation to counter the issues posed by Postman ad flavor to her argument. She almost seems condescending toward Postman but at the same token staying inside the conversations’ barriers or tiptoeing the think line between obnoxiousness and logically disclosing her view points while still displaying respect over their nice seafood dinner. I think that some bias does take affect in my and many other young people because we have been raised on television and media so obviously there is some void between the elder population and the learning curve of such new technologies. However my allegiance shall stay on the side of Paglia for obvious reasons.
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