CMNS 110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Marshall Mcluhan
25 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Nikita Buekenhout
BUEND1503
Reading Summary 2-The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan
We often, or almost always blame technology for the negative consequence it has on society, ‘If
that wasn’t free for everyone to buy there’s wouldn’t be so many accidents’, an example for
motorcycles is there are many accidents every day because of it and the rider and maybe a
unfortunate bystander will be severely hurt or lose their life because of it. It’s easier to blame the
motorcycle ‘medium’, than the person itself who was controlling and using it ‘content’. Another
example is electric light, we don’t term the light bulb as a message as it doesn’t do anything or
importance except give light to us, but in fact what we use the illumination for is also content
since we are able to perform because of it and the bulb itself is the medium as it is where the
light is coming from. Another point is that technology itself is not at fault but our intentions and
what we use it for, what the motives are behind it is arguable, like am I using it for a helpful
reason and that makes it good? It’s like saying if I shoot the bad guys it’s a deed done good, but
as a matter of fact killing is killing, for a noble or savage reason. People started to faintly
understand what McLuhan was talking about ‘the medium is the message, after electrical age.
They started asking questions like the content of an object bot a vague question like its overall
appearance. Also the power of words and when strung into elaborate sentences and paragraphs
they have as much power behind as a gun would to a person, that says what we hear and read
stays with us and can make us question our beliefs whereas pure force could not do that. We are
misplacing our anger on technology, as a society we created it so in a way it is guilt that we
can’t admit to due to its innumerable casualties. Because we have as a society created how to
behave and how not to, we have divided it into those who obey the instructions and the ‘rule
breakers’. So anyone who does not obey it is a menace of society and looked down upon.
Technology can change the way we thing and our values without us being aware of it, it’s a
natural influence in our life that we don’t know is slowly altering us. To truly understand how a
