McLuhan: Extensions of our Insights?

Get it “Insights”?

Marshall McLuhan is a name that despite his contribution to the world of media, especially the widespread technological media, I was not familiar with—like the majority of the class. He coined the popular phrases “the medium is the message” as well as the idea of a “global village.”

The idea of a “global village” is, quite frankly, all I have ever known. The world is connected through technology almost infinitely and it’s a wonder when and how the world ever once seemed like a universe instead of a pueblo—village. “Global theatre” seems to be a more precise term though. “All the world’s a stage.”

The debate between good and bad will exist until…well, eternally. Yet, McLuhan described the growth of electric media as inescapable and as neither good nor bad. The question he focused on however, was whether people would understand and adapt to this new media.

McLuhan believed this would be the ultimate dilemma considering we are “always one step behind in our view of the world.” I found this interesting because I grew up listening to my parents talk about their past. The advantages of living in the 21st century are immense, they frequently told me. Yet, they always tied their stories to the media of the past. The internet was the scariest technological advancement for them: sex predators, cyber-stalking, chat rooms, and even curse words. The Internet was surely the work of the Devil himself! Eventually I was able to convince them that the Internet would help me get all the information I needed for homework and school projects.

Although this media is beneficial, the dangers it poses are numerous. As McLuhan explained it: these technological extensions of our bodies and capacities also comes with its pair. This pair is otherwise known as an amputation! “The telephone extends the voice, but also amputates the art of penmanship gained through regular correspondence.” Society praises the extensions, while ignoring the amputations. The extensions of media allow people to do things more rapid and effectively, therefore, the amputations must not be as important.

If you want to read more about McLuhan’s media theories, check out the beginning of his book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.