Marshall McLuhan is a monumental figure in the field of new and digital media and has been referred to as "the first father and leading prophet of the electronic age. He dedicated his work to learning and understanding how technology and popular culture are interrelated, and how each has helped shape the other. His knowledge of how a message is changed by the medium by which it is presented is really interesting, and is a point that can be taken into account in the advertising industry. What's even more interesting is that, in the 1960s when TV was brand new and the internet and cell phones did not exist, he created phrases like "global village," which describes our age much more than his. He had many predictions concerning technology and communication, and noted how technologies that "extend" the human mind or body in some way make certain skills obsolete, such as a car extending feet or binoculars extending the human eye.
-Stefany Townsend
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2 comments:
Stefany,
I agree that McLuhan made some very good point before his time about technology. I also thought that although a car or binoculars may be an extension of certain skills such as walking or seeing, I do not think those skills can become completely obsolete. Just like the original elements in Chemstry, they can be combined to make more helpful things but it is difficult to upgrade certain skills if there are none at all in the first place. I do agree that they can be used a lot less with technology though.
~Karen Borden
Now that is one point I can agree with. As reading updates on McLuhan myself, I found him to be a man that tries to pin-point how the individual may act. How and why are some of the things he seems to consider. His ideas seemed more like he was trying to figure out the individual, more than just consider technology as a way to figure the human being out. Though his thoughts about technology were good, they just seemed more studying the body and emotion to me.
-William Waitman
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