FMU
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The fundamental truths that dictate what it
means to be human remain the same, but
technology presents a unique set of
problems. Technology is not inherently
negative or positive, good or bad. But the
way it gets used can be negative or positive,
good or bad. Thus, we should shape our lives
“to fit the requirements of culture” not “the
requirements of technology”
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Technology is a trade-off; there are always advantages and
disadvantages.
 Technologies create change and biased views - Postman argues that
technologies both do and undo
 What technologies undo is more important because we tend to focus
entirely on what they DO do
 Examples: automobile, printing press
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Effects on Storytelling
 Undo: printing press, movies, and other technology bring storytelling
further away from its original form (face-to-face), which undoes or
undermines the values and traditions once associated with storytelling
 Do: technology preserves memory and emotions that come along
with it
There are winners and losers when it comes to
technological change – the winners are in control of the
technology, the losers are being controlled by it
 Advantages and disadvantages are never distributed
equally among the population - imbalance of power
 The losers are often persuaded to believe that they are
gaining advantages from the technology (even if those in
control of the technology are the real winners)
 Depends on a multitude of factors:
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Religion
Race
Class/wealth
Location
Gender
Storytelling is no longer an equal transaction – the
“storytellers” of today have much more power than their
listeners because technology mediates the conversation
 The technology of today that shapes many of the stories
we hear looks more like a machine more than an individual
voice (i.e. Fox News or Miramax)
 Example: wealth
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 The wealthy people have access to phones, newspapers, and
online resources
 This gives them the power to spread their story among a larger
population.
 They then are the winners who benefit from technology.
 Consequence: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
There is an idea behind every technology that is often
hidden from view due to its abstract nature (i.e. television
values immediacy over history)
 “The medium is the message” – the form of medium
embeds itself in the message. Thus, in some cases, the
medium matters more than the content itself (i.e. it’s not
the speech that matters – it’s how you’re hearing it. In
person? Over the radio? On television? The medium will
shape your perception)
 Effects of Storytelling
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 Depending on the form of the story, the message will vary
 So, a story told face-to-face will send a different message than
a movie because of how the listener interacts with the story
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New technology does not simply add something to our culture – it
changes it entirely
 The changes are wholly irreversible and are often unanticipated, expected or
predicted
 Technology impacts our values, behaviors and interactions (example: with the
invention of TV, political discourse has declined)
 A capitalist society will constantly introduce the latest technology to promote
economic growth – these cultural risk takers do not consider the
consequences of this new technology (example: standardized testing –
something that created a new industry and economic growth - was introduced
without considering the long term effects on education)
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Effects on Storytelling
 Technology has became intertwined with the storytelling making it a
business, distancing the audience from the storyteller and the authentic
experience of story
 Story telling has become a marketable good that one can put a price on, as
opposed to a communal activity that leads to the development of our culture
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Technology is thought to be natural, inevitable. It has become mythic.
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It has become a form of idolatry to us
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We look to technology like we would look to some kind of diety
In terms of storytelling, we automatically believe stories we hear through
technology because we depend on it so heavily. Those stories become
absolute.
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People don’t think about why or how technology is there. It just is. However, we don’t think
about how our view could be completely distorted by our feeling of belonging to technology.
People don’t realize how much technology can change or manipulate a story - they just
accept that story as is (i.e. when you think of the story “Cinderella” you most likely see the
Disney images in your heads – that version has become the absolute version. Technology
controls the story)
Because technology is so valuable to our society, we never question its validity or think about
how it changes our view of the world through stories that have been manipulated to affect us
in a certain way.
In sum, humans created technology and therefore it has the potential to be
used for good or evil. Technology is not an inevitable part of God’s plan but a
product of the human innovation. We should remember that ultimately we
control the technology – the technology does not control us
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1-2 pages typed
Based on discussions and reading this week,
what can you conclude about the state of
storytelling in today’s world? Consider our
natural desire for story, technology’s role,
and Postman’s argument among other
things. You can use examples from class
discussion or your own examples, but be sure
to be specific in proving your points.