Friday, November 5, 2010

The Medium is the Message ...or the Massage

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan, a philosopher, an English literature professor, and a communication theorist is known for his work on media theory. He is especially famous for his idea that "the Medium is the Message," which later translated into a published book called "The Medium is the Massage." What McLuhan means by media being the message is that, the message is "the change of scale or pace or pattern" introduced to human affairs by new inventions. Furthermore, he claims that the "content" of the media is always another media, making it almost impossible to make a clear cut separation on what is medium, what is message and what is content.We often focus on the concept that one thing follows another, a clear formula called; cause-and-effect. However, McLuhan thinks that "nothing follows from nothing, except change."

The Medium is the Massage

In a review on The Medium is the Message called, What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?Mark Federman analyzes "a McLuhan message [as] always tell[ing] us to look beyond the obvious and seek the non-obvious changes or effects that are enabled, enhanced, accelerated or extended by the new thing." More often than not, we tend to focus on the medium rather than the message. For example, McLuhan claims that any medium tend to impose assumption on the not cautious person, who only looks at the obvious. If one is aware enough and shake off such assumptions on the medium, then she/he is able to truly understand what the message is. This is how Alexis De Tocqueville was able to understand the grammar of typogrpahy, because he went beyond the obvious and detached himself from the stereotypical values and assumptions on what typogrpahy is.  

One other idea of McLuhan that really drew my attention is the concept of technology as an extension of human body. I never thought about technology as being an extension of my body, but when I pondered upon this thought, I felt that it defines technology so well. Technology enables one to work beyond human capability. For example, cell phone is an extension of human voice- it allows one voice to be heard miles away. Bullet train is an extension of our legs- it enables one to move from one place to the other so quickly. So technology is an integral part of our lives, and they are the message itself, as they are the extension of our body parts that enable us to do the tasks that, without it, are impossible to do.
Technology is an extension of our body
The video below shows a short clip from "McLuhan-The Medium is the Message" by (c) Canadian Heritage Minute, that describes how McLuhan came up with the idea that the medium is the message and the content is the audience during his lecture.

7 comments:

  1. I really found McLuhan's idea of technology as body parts interesting, too. I didn't quite envision Inspector Gadget, but something similar popped into my head. The idea of pushing the boundaries of what we're given I think goes back to the beginning of mankind, especially art. "Nothing follows from nothing, except change" seems to encapsulate a lot of what we talked about regarding the development of new media and the integration of everything we're able to use (Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr) today.

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  2. Like the both of you, I also found the idea that technology acts as an extension of ourselves interesting. Also, I'm glad you included a picture of Inspector Gadget, as he is an apt example (and because he was an awesome cartoon character).
    I liked your point about technology being integral to our lives while also acting as the message. I just wonder what the message is. What does it mean that the technology we use acts as an extension of familiar human functions? Does it mean, in true sci-fi fashion, that many of the capabilities which we consider intrinsically human, can be fabricated?

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  3. I also got inspired by his thought "any medium tend to impose assumption on the not cautious person, who only looks at the obvious.If one is aware enough and shake off such assumptions on the medium, then she/he is able to truly understand what the message is." Maybe this is why IMB is dealing with computers now not with office supplies according to his article This is also what I meant in my post that is one can truely interpret a medium, they can cause a revolution.

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  4. One of the reasons I personally enjoyed reading McLuhan's article is that he portrays the idea of medium being the message so simplistically. Yet, even with this simplicity, his phrase is so vague and ambiguous. How can we tell what he really means by stating that "the medium is the message?" Along the same lines, McLuhan's idea of technology being an extension of human body seems quite an obvious statement. Yet, as you already mentioned, it makes you ponder upon the idea and wonder what he really means by it. We are not completely sure if this "extension" is to be perceived as being positive or a negative ideology in reality. It could vary either way, since technology certainly helps us, but at the same time makes us lazy and lethargic, as we keep on "extending" our body, and tend to rely on it more as it advances day by day.

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  5. Inspector gadget perfectly exemplifies what McLuhan's idea of technology being extensions of the body. Nice comparison.

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  6. Lovin' the Canadian pride around McLuhan and the soft focus seductive performance of him as a professor!

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  7. Great summary post. I really enjoyed it. In fact, I referenced your blog in my recent blog post on McLuhan http://laislameecanta.blogspot.com/2010/11/medium-is-message-mess-age-massage-mass.html

    Dave - Brigham Young University

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