One of the greatest, well known thinkers, Marshall McLuhan
once said “The Medium is the Message”.
Now, if you’re like me you’ve probably never heard of him
before. I hadn’t until Media Studies. One thing I learned first off just from
watching a youtube clip, he’s very boring. Well I guess he appears to be
boring, but if you really listen to him and think about his ideas, their all
true. It’s crazy to believe that he said this in the 60’s and people are still
talking about it today.
Even though he made this statement decades ago, it still
applies to our modern day world.
What does “The Medium is the Message” really mean?
Well, this is what I think.
I’ll give you an example that is probably easy for you to
relate to. When the class gossiper tells you a story, you usually shrug it off
and forget it, BUT, when your best
friend tells you the same story, you realize it’s probably true.
The same thing goes for the media. When we see something in
the Kings County Record yeah that’s great, but when it’s in the Globe and Mail,
we really pay attention. The medium that news is displayed can really affect
how we receive the message.
“Our technology forces us to live mythically”
― Marshall McLuhan
The problem with the fact that the medium is the message is
that sometimes the medium has a bias opinion, and nobody really stops to
question it.
Take Perez Hilton for example, we look at his as a “Reliable Source” … kinda sad. He’s just
one person and obviously has a bias opinion, so why don’t we question him?
At first I found Marshall McLuhan extremely boring (sorry
Mrs. Smith) but statements that he made years ago are still true today. He was
a pretty smart guy.
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on The Medium Is The Message. Good job. I also enjoyed your use of quotes throughout the post
ReplyDelete