Marshall McLuhan coined phrases many people have heard without understanding--or at least I've heard them without taking the time to understand. "The medium is the message," McLuhan proclaimed. Logical being that I am, my first thought was, "The message is the message." McLuhan was right, though. The very medium used to send a message shapes and changes the message. The same advertisement delivered on television, in print, or over the radio is changed by each new medium. Each medium makes a new advertisement, whether that creation was intentional or not. McLuhan recognized and understood this concept. He encouraged people to step back and analyze what each new technology or medium does, not only to our messages, but also to our culture and ourselves. It was this emphasis on what a technology does to our culture and ourselves that made McLuhan so influential.
-Kim Spann
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Kim,
I completely agree that Mcluhan's understanding of the medium, as the message is a very influential point. Not only what the message that artist, advertisers, or anyone in general a point, but the medium they use to make the point has a very important influence on the message and in many cases are the message itself.
~Karen Borden
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