Question

A brief essay on whether McLuhan used the critical perspective in his thinking about the medium is the message.

Specifically, does McLuhan:

1. Question commonly held assumptions?

2. Expand the bounds of debate?

3. Aim for the betterment of society?

500 words

Answer 1

Answer.

Marshall McLuhan’s essay on structural linguistics presents a controversial debate that the manner in which information is communicated , the medium, has more of a profound effect on the person receiving the information than the information or the message itself. According to him, The introduction of new media with each technological and historical advancement brings with it massive social, psychological, and structural upheaval. He goes on to demonstrate how the introduction of the printing press evolved medieval society and provided just the ripe ideological condition for the emergence of scientific Reason guided by individualism. He uses the introduction of new technology at each historical period, for example the invention of radio, television, and then the Internet in the contemporary age to question the taken for granted assumptions about communication and information dissemination and build as strong critic that Even if the same exact information were presented across different modes of communication, the effect of that message is transformed by the manner in which it's delivered - that is the media in itself frames the boundaries of the content of a message and in our time, it is as important to critically evaluate the source of the information as the content of the message itself.

Thus, McLuhan draws from the Critical and social constructionist perspectives to warns us that we are often distracted by the content of a medium, that blinds us to the character of the medium rather than the content of the message. Thus, mass communications has changed the dynamic of life and by becoming more aware of this phenomenon, social movements and transformations can be planned in a way which challenge this very hegemony of the medium over our reality itself.