As contemporary Americans, we're talking here about our own civilization. This section of the web site approaches the entertainment-centered culture from several points of view.

While people have amused themselves since the beginning of time, the entertainment industry first became a dominant force in society in the 20th century with the development of new electronic technologies of recording and broadcasting. Western peoples, weary of serious purposes and mass slaughter, turned to popular culture following the two world wars.

The economic basis of this new culture was advertising - the juxtaposition of free or cheap entertainment programming and unwanted commercial messages. In their heyday, television networks were powerful selling machines which, besides entertaining people, controlled both commercial and political markets by providing direct access to the mass of customers or voters.

This "empire" is now threatened by the proliferation and segmentation of media and especially by the increasing importance of communication by computer which allows the consumer to seek out the informational message instead of having it broadcast to him or her. Contemporary Americans find themselves in transition between a fourth, entertainment-based "civilization" and a future fifth civilization based on computer communication.

Click here for Contemporary political campaigns as infomercials (1363 words) www.infomercial.html- 5 foreign languages

Click here for the text of a presentation at the 2004 annual conference at the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations in Fairbanks, Alaska, in June 2004. The talk is titled "Campaigning for High Political Office in the Fourth Epoch of Civilization." (2232 words) www.campaign.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for An Assessment of the Political Dance Contest (793 words) www.politicaldance.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for Entertainment in Service of a Political Agenda (1110 words) www.warwithiran.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for Changing Civilizations Affect Socialist Societies, Too (191 words) www.castro.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for Dysfunctional Celebrities (2888 words) www.dysfunctionalcelebrity.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for A Nation of Way Too Many Celebrities (958 words) www.celebrityglut.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for thoughts about How the Fourth Civilization Might Come to an End. (1320 words) www.end.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for The Beginning of the End of Civilization IV and its Replacement by the Next (2138 words) www.end2.html - 5 foreign languages

Click here for Too Many Branded Products in TV Shows (734 words) www.products.html - 5 foreign languages

See also section on Rhythm and Self-Consciousness, ideals of our electronic civilization. www.rhythmsummary.html - 10 foreign languages

See also Billy Graham, a man of religion for the Entertainment Age Steadfast in commitment to Jesus while exploiting the latest communication technologies www.billygraham.html - 5 foreign languages

Click for a translation into:

French - Spanish - German - Portuguese - Italian       

About these languages www.language.html - 5 foreign languages