My Graduation Speech by Neil Postman, chair of the Department of Culture and Communication at New York University, describes two kinds of people, whom he compares with Athenians and Visigoths.

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Arunee Kasemphaibulsuk

Ms Goldspink

ENG4U-02

November 9, 2005

The Dominance of Visigoths

My Graduation Speech by Neil Postman, chair of the Department of Culture and Communication at New York University, describes two kinds of people, whom he compares with Athenians and Visigoths. The Athenians, who lived in Greece about 2,500 years ago, contributed many positive ideas still valued in the present. They believed in reason, beauty, moderation, and excellence. Postman also wrote about negative values, which belonged to the Visigoths in Germany about 1700 years ago. Visigoths did everything for their own benefits, lived only for overcoming others' culture and ideas; they were crude, brutal, destructive, and greedy. Since Postman wrote this speech, it appears that Visigoth values have become an even more dominant and powerful influence, as seen clearly from three media: the television program Extreme Makeover provides an example of the obsession with popularity and money; the movie Mr. And Mrs. Smith demonstrates the increase of violence in relationships; and the two articles from The Globe and Mail explore how people put Visigoth self-interest ahead of Athenian ethics.

The Visigoths believe that popularity is more valuable than true beauty,