Recommended Resources for Studying

Television's Effects

 

Amusing Ourselves to Death

– Neil Postman

 

"Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media - from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs - it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals." – 184 pages

 

Television and the Quality of Life: How Viewing Shapes Everyday Experience

– Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

 

“This is one of the most intense and empirical studies of how people relate to television (not focusing on television's content). The data is presented in text and charts. We get to see the surveys, the responses, we are informed of the study methods used. Various psychological traits are measured before, during, and after television viewing in the subjects homes. Things like concentration, cheerfulness, challenge, memory, and other traits are measured at various times using a self-reporting mechanism. The merits and faults of the methods used to study the subjects are also discussed. The book is intense. The authors (Mihaly and Robert) do an extremely admirable job of presenting the information in a readable and complete format. Content of television was not part of the study; content of the subject's psyches was. A landmark work.” – 296 pgs

 

 

Cyclops

– St. Anne's Public House

 

* Why Television and Movies Are Not the Same * Cultural Exegesis: Douglas Wilson -- Watching Television with an Open Bible * NPR.ORC * Margaret Ansett reviews Shows About Nothing by Thomas Hibbs * Finding God in Pop Culture * T. S. Elliot on Television * The Serrated Edge Study Bible * Interview: Dean Batali, Writer/Producer of That Seventies Show * Something to Think About * A Gargoyle Story * -- CD/MP3