Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. McGraw-Hill, 1964. Reviewed by Kayla M. Piper, Pittsburg State University, KS. Medium Is the Message, a part of the book Understanding Media, is a critical evaluation and interpretation of Media Ecology, a communications theory. Marshall McLuhan particularly focuses on the idea that the medium is the message. He presents the idea that instead of the content of the medium being the message, it is actually the effect that it creates on human life. He states, “The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium-that is, of any extension of ourselves-result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension
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One example being the automation invention, the idea is that the message creates a change in human’s lives. The changes that occur with this medium are that it can either eliminate jobs or create more roles for people. I found this an interesting way to look at it because it is a little contradicting, but at the same time very accurate. Another example he provided and I have noticed has become a very popular is the electric light instance. He claims that what the light is shining on isn’t the message but that the electric light is essentially just a medium without a message, just information. What the light is being used for has no impact to the message. He states, “The medium shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and actions” (p. 8). This concept was a little harder for me to grasp then some of his others, but essentially it makes sense because the light itself has no particular message or influence. He also provided me with a different way of thinking with some of his books contents. Marshall McLuhan had a different way of thinking then most people today, and maybe that’s why his works are so incredibly famous. For a brief moment in his text he talks about when the railroad industry began. He states that it didn’t just bring movement and transportation in to the world but also more cities, jobs, activities, and a faster pace of life. In terms of thinking about the medium and the message, if you hadn’t known his theory, you would basically believe that the railroad brought a new form of transportation. Not until reading his book did it allow me to think about the actual message and the consequences or changes mediums bring to
One example being the automation invention, the idea is that the message creates a change in human’s lives. The changes that occur with this medium are that it can either eliminate jobs or create more roles for people. I found this an interesting way to look at it because it is a little contradicting, but at the same time very accurate. Another example he provided and I have noticed has become a very popular is the electric light instance. He claims that what the light is shining on isn’t the message but that the electric light is essentially just a medium without a message, just information. What the light is being used for has no impact to the message. He states, “The medium shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and actions” (p. 8). This concept was a little harder for me to grasp then some of his others, but essentially it makes sense because the light itself has no particular message or influence. He also provided me with a different way of thinking with some of his books contents. Marshall McLuhan had a different way of thinking then most people today, and maybe that’s why his works are so incredibly famous. For a brief moment in his text he talks about when the railroad industry began. He states that it didn’t just bring movement and transportation in to the world but also more cities, jobs, activities, and a faster pace of life. In terms of thinking about the medium and the message, if you hadn’t known his theory, you would basically believe that the railroad brought a new form of transportation. Not until reading his book did it allow me to think about the actual message and the consequences or changes mediums bring to