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Excerpt reprinted from "The End of Education"
To my knowledge, Neil Postman has never given an
official statement on what he thinks of Amused to Death, but in his book, "The
End of Education", he does directly refer to Roger Waters and Amused to Death.
The following is taken out of a chapter concering museums and the appreciate of
classical art forms:
There are, as we know, different levels of sensibility. In the case of music, for example, most American students are well tuned to respond with feeling, critical intelligence, and considerable attention to forms of popular music, but are not prepared to feel or even experience the music of Haydn, Bach, or Mozart; that is to say, their hearts are closed, or partially closed, to the canon of Western music. I am not about to launch into a screed against rock, metal, rap, and other forms of teenage music. In fact, readers should know that Roger Waters, once the lead singer of Pink Floyd, was sufficiently inspired by a book of mine to produce a CD called Amused to Death. This fact so elevated my prestige among undergraduates that I am hardly in a position to repudiate him or his kind of music. Nor do I have the inclination for any other reason. Nonetheless, the level of sensibility required to appreciate the music of Roger Waters is both different and lower than what is required to appreciate, let us say, a Chopin étude.
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Pink Floyd and the Huxleyan World-view
It's apparently common knowledge now that Roger Waters derived the
title of the album
'Amused to Death' from that of the book 'Amusing Ourselves to Death', by Neil
Postman. I say that this is common knowledge because it's in the Echoes
FAQ. Postman's view of culture is based on a sort of Huxleyian world view.
The real threat is not that the will of authoritarians will be imposed on us
against our will, but rather, that we will unknowingly give away our freedom
in the pursuit of a more pleasant and comfortable existence. Neil Postman
admits that his theory of communication is much derived from that of Marshall
McLuhan, who, in my view, expanded on the cybernetic ideas of Norbert
Wiener to a certain extent, as they related to communication theory.
Again, my idea is that the 'The Division Bell' album (1994) is based on the book Cybernetics and Society, by Norbert Wiener, though more intricately than Waters' 'Amused to Death' album (1992) is based on the book 'Amusing Ourselves to Death', by Neil Postman;
and that this is the key to understanding the album and the Publius Enigma.
If you're not familiar with Pink Floyd, then you might not know that Roger Waters
was once a key member of the band. 'The Division Bell/Cybernetics and Society'
concept might then be an attempt to outdo, or respond to Waters' 'Amused to Death/Amusing Ourselves to Death' concept. Or maybe Waters had some input into the 'TDB/CAS' concept.
Neil Postman and Norbert
Wiener are similar in that both can be branded as socially critical
communication theorists who address the American populace in particular. Some of the ideas of Norbert Wiener can be seen as having
very similar implications as those of Aldous Huxley. The ideas expressed in the book seem, in retrospect, particularly prudent and timely given the rapid advancement of societal control (by means of monitoring - feedback of course) and computers and such, throughout the developed world, following the end of WWII. In one review of the
book 'Cybernetics and Society' at
Amazon.com it is written:
"Weiner reveals himself to be a lesser know and more technically
knowledgeable Huxley."
It can uncontroversially be said that popular
figures, with much access to mass communication facilities, have a lot of power and control. (cybernetic analogues of political leaders) Not that they're running the show. (see Foucault, and panopticism) "They're watching you..." It shouldn't arouse too much
confusion to say that Huxleyian themes were present in the music
of Pink Floyd, long before Waters did 'Amused to Death'. One
example of this can be seen expressed in the movie 'The Wall', where Pink, a popular musician, is
presented as a sort of fascist dictator. It might be argued that this sort
of thinking was present in the music of the Floyd as early as WYWH. The
theme of the song 'Welcome to the Machine', interpreted most literally as
being about the music industry and all that, can be extrapolated to apply to
late capitalist culture in general. "What did you dream, it's alright we
told you what to dream". At some point during the middle ages we welcomed the introduction of bells into our towns and cities in order to better organize time, thereby bringing greater order and efficiency into our daily lives. (seem familiar? - see also technological determinism) Maybe we're not as free as we like to think.
"Why torture people when you can get them to pay for access to electronic mind control?"
"Power and the search for power are unfortunately realities that can assume
many garbs." "When I control the actions of another person, I communicate a message to
him, and although this message is in the imperative mood, the technique of
communication does not differ from that of a message of fact."
"In a certain sense, all communication systems terminate in
machines, but the ordinary language systems terminate in the
special sort of machine known as the human being."
"I have spoken of machines, but not only of machines having brains of brass
and thews of iron. When human atoms are knit into an organization in which
they are used, not in their full right as responsible human beings, but as
cogs and levers and rods, it matters little that their raw material is flesh and blood. What is used as an element in the machine, is in fact an element in the machine..."
"All in all you're just another brick in the wall."
"Welcome to the world of random noise
Tyrell corporation motto. (Blade Runner sound file)
"Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems
to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit
from taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves,
we don't really have any rights left."
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