General Chapter OverviewNeil Postman begins Chapter 9 of his book Fun to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Entertainment by discussing whether politics is actually a spectator sport or whether politics it's just like the way show business is run. This chapter is titled “Reaching Out and Electing Someone,” and Postman first writes about how politics is more like a “spectator sport” or, as Ronald Reagan put it, “like show business” (125). Postman then writes about how he is more energized by the first simile, scary as it is, since in a sport “the standard of excellence is well known to both players and spectators” (125). We know how to watch, understand and score a sport. Most of a television show's programming consists primarily of commercials rather than the actual show. For example, in the United States there are approximately eight or 8 and a half minutes of commercials per half hour of television broadcast. There are about 10 full minutes of commercials on cable, which is why syndicated versions of television programs are edited to remove at least 1-1/2 to 2 minutes of the show to fit the cable channel's time slot. Paid cable shows have no commercials and can last 25 to 29 minutes. In the UK on ITV and other commercial networks there are 6 to 7 and a half minutes of commercials every half hour, but the BBC only shows commercials. for their own shows at the end of a program if there is space, so a half-hour show can last up to 29 and a half minutes without commercials. Overall, Postman writes about how TV commercials affect almost everyone with a television. Key Concepts The Postman's departure from what he was originally talking about, which is the "standard of excellence" in entertainment, is... middle of paper.. .causes they claim to represent. Postman also points out that when he was a child, people voted for their party, regardless of candidate, because they had rationally decided that a particular party best represented their economic and social interests. However, he believes such thinking is a diminishing commodity. To illustrate how the idea of ​​"image politics on television" works, Postman details a popular series of Bell Telephone commercials that offer short parables about how two long-out-of-touch friends reconnect. and finding intimacy through the phone. The commercials do not make any claims about the telephone, but rather express, through the slogan "Reach Out and Touch Someone", an image of ourselves, as people who are not as in touch as we would like but who certainly would like to be. Works Cited Having Fun Until Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Entertainment