The Medium is the Massage

In Marshall McLuhan's book, "The Medium is the Massage" he discusses media and technology's imprint on our society. He incorporates images and printed word to emphasize his ideas giving his book a very non-traditional feel. This combination makes the book very interesting and informative and I found myself quickly finishing it in one setting.

McLuhan briefly discusses current events, but his message on the Vietnam War is clear. He felt that all the war propaganda created an unrealistic image that unfortunately surrounded the war through it's finish. The was the first war shown on television, so to counter the alarming images of soldiers in battle, the media used propaganda so lessen the intensity. He refers to television as a "window on the world" and the media utilizes this to askew the view.

This subject extends to mass marketing. McLuhan believed that commercials were a cheap extension of television. The idea that we have to "see it to believe it" somehow makes products more appealing. By creating "shorts" without a story plot, the consumers become anxious/curious for more. The media puts ideas about how we should or should not feel about certain things and through mass marketing, individuals have begun to merge together as one. People lose the ability to think for themselves and begin to copy what they see. 

In regards to the A-Bomb, McLuhan says, "It is no longer convenient, or suitable, to use the latest technologies for fighting our wars, because the latest technologies have rendered war meaningless. The hydrogen bomb is history's exclamation point. It ends an age-long sentence of manifest violence!" (138). I sense a little bit of sarcasm in his tone, for he is consistently demeaning technology. Something he said that really hit hard for me was, "We have had to shift our stress of attention from action to reaction. We must now know in advance the consequences of any policy or action, since the results are experienced without any delay," (63). Technology has created a sense of urgency throughout our culture because now we've become so used to getting everything right away when we want something.

While this was written in 1967, it's amazing how his ideas still hold true today. In the late 60's at the influx of many new technologies, McLuhan believed that people were losing a sense for who they truly were. Anyone growing up in the 21st century can agree that we now rely on technology everyday to get through our day to day lives. Teenagers feel lost without their cell phones and computers have become the focal point for many business ventures. As early as the 60's McLauhan was able to predict technology's impact on our culture and our growing dependence and addiction to the media and technology. If he were still alive today I would be very curious to hear his thoughts on the upcoming generations...