4 ms·

Illustrates it well: http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/ http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/

by aprdm 12y ago

myth_buster 12y ago
Thank you for sharing that link. It's a great summary. As we turn into a hedonistic society, the impetus for doing good and morality will deteriorate.
johnvschmitt 12y ago
That illustrates it very well. It's a shame that recombinantrecords.net has removed that from his site, even though it's original work, because lawyers sued him for using the title of a (good) book "Amusing Ourselves to Death". Then, 9GAG & other sites have no problems copying the content. It just goes to show you that you can't stop information flow. All you can do it stop legitimate players from controlling it.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
efa 12y ago
Wow excellent! I'm always been more drawn to Orwell. But I think this illustrates how we are definitely headed more towards Huxley's vision.
- chiaro 12y ago
  It does cherry pick from Huxley to make the point. There's little uptake of genetically engineered class systems in modern society, for example. Regardless, I think that between the two texts, 1984 is by far the closest to our reality. Not here, of course, but in North Korea. No western country can be drawn as either without some major overreaches.
prof_hobart 12y ago
I think the reality is a combination of the two. Most of the world (including the media) is so distracted by the entertainment trivia of Brave New World that almost no one cares about the 1984 surveillance/censorship world that is being constructed all around is.
OGC 12y ago
The 9gag watermark on the bottom really is the kicker for that comic.
gojomo 12y ago
That comic is based on Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death. It originally appeared at... http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourselves-to-Death.html http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourse... ...but was apparently taken down due at the copyright holders' request. More on the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death
- abandonliberty 12y ago
  I'm torn about this takedown. Until today I had no idea it was based on prior work. If they left the comic up but clarified what it was inspired by it would definitely help the Postman estate. The conversion rate of "Do yourself a favour and read Neil Postman's words in full. Purchase a copy of Amusing Ourselves to Death new/used (aff)" must be a rounding error on 0.
  - gojomo 12y ago
    Definitely agree that the comic, staying at one canonical location, could have served as a boon to the sales of the book and awareness of its themes. (I'm guessing that the subtlety of the comic's original Postman mention – at the very bottom – compared to the top line "AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH by Stuart McMillen" may have started the attribution discussion off on the wrong foot.)

Illustrates it well: http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/ http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/

by aprdm 12y ago

Illustrates it well: http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/ http://postimg.org/image/ue0pdq56r/

Thank you for sharing that link. It's a great summary. As we turn into a hedonistic society, the impetus for doing good and morality will deteriorate.

johnvschmitt 12y ago

That illustrates it very well. It's a shame that recombinantrecords.net has removed that from his site, even though it's original work, because lawyers sued him for using the title of a (good) book "Amusing Ourselves to Death". Then, 9GAG & other sites have no problems copying the content. It just goes to show you that you can't stop information flow. All you can do it stop legitimate players from controlling it.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

efa 12y ago

Wow excellent! I'm always been more drawn to Orwell. But I think this illustrates how we are definitely headed more towards Huxley's vision.

chiaro 12y ago
It does cherry pick from Huxley to make the point. There's little uptake of genetically engineered class systems in modern society, for example. Regardless, I think that between the two texts, 1984 is by far the closest to our reality. Not here, of course, but in North Korea. No western country can be drawn as either without some major overreaches.

prof_hobart 12y ago

I think the reality is a combination of the two. Most of the world (including the media) is so distracted by the entertainment trivia of Brave New World that almost no one cares about the 1984 surveillance/censorship world that is being constructed all around is.

OGC 12y ago

The 9gag watermark on the bottom really is the kicker for that comic.

gojomo 12y ago

That comic is based on Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death. It originally appeared at... http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourselves-to-Death.html http://www.recombinantrecords.net/docs/2009-05-Amusing-Ourse... ...but was apparently taken down due at the copyright holders' request. More on the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death

abandonliberty 12y ago
I'm torn about this takedown. Until today I had no idea it was based on prior work. If they left the comic up but clarified what it was inspired by it would definitely help the Postman estate. The conversion rate of "Do yourself a favour and read Neil Postman's words in full. Purchase a copy of Amusing Ourselves to Death new/used (aff)" must be a rounding error on 0.
- gojomo 12y ago
  Definitely agree that the comic, staying at one canonical location, could have served as a boon to the sales of the book and awareness of its themes. (I'm guessing that the subtlety of the comic's original Postman mention – at the very bottom – compared to the top line "AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH by Stuart McMillen" may have started the attribution discussion off on the wrong foot.)