Michael Eisner and Web Television

I have posted a series of questions about a New York Times article entitled, "The Very Model of a Modern Media Mogul," here.

The article prompts me to think about the importance of writing.

When we ask students to interpret literature, be it the written word or a movie, we ask them to critically consider a message. We ask them to think. These thinking skills can help students understand and react to numerous different situations that they'll encounter throughout life.

The written word, typically contained in books, provide a useful venue for challenging our students to think in this way. The written word is important, right?

Well actually, I can't help but wonder if books actually are as important to the future as they are to the present. Certainly Gutenberg made it very easy to convey messages through the written word. But, would the written word have been as important and useful if people could have developed and easily communicated messages contained in other types of media, as early as they could spread writing?

My guess is that if people could have developed multi-media messages hundreds of years ago, messages containing spoken word, music, and moving pictures hundreds of years ago, the written word would not have gained its current importance. Using these multi-media messages we still could have taught the importance of literary analysis and critical thinking. Instead of interpreting written words, we'd be interpreting movies. Many would certainly find this aesthetically pleasing.

My guess: In time the written word will become less prevalent in schools. Video will increasingly take its place.

What do you think?