Everyman’s McLuhan
April 7th, 2008 by Dave Allen
For anyone who has been aware of Marshall McLuhan’s life and work and who have read his many books and essays, he is perhaps best remembered for the slogan The Medium is the Message upon which he elaborated in his 1964 book, ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.’
For those who know the slogan but not the man or meaning behind it a timely book published by Mark Batty Publisher came out late last year entitled Everyman’s McLuhan written by W. Terrence Gordon, Eri Hamaji and Jacob Albert. It’s basically a primer for those interested in McLuhan and who are ready to plunge into his work.
This is a pocket-sized book that’s handy to have around; you can pick up this book and start at any page, you can jump around too without losing the thread and it’s also worth having just for the graphic design. The writers also provide the back story to some of McLuhan’s writings including the slogans. For instance they flesh out his thinking behind “The Medium Is The Message.” They ask “How can the medium be the message? How can the television circuits, screen etc. be the ad coaxing us to buy?” They let us know that McLuhan never intended his phrase to have such a literal meaning. He often rephrased the slogan to fit different audiences and those paraphrases are not that well know. Here’s one – “The medium is the message, but the user of the medium is the content of the medium, in the sense that any medium is an extension of the human body.” By that he could mean that a mobile phone is an extension of our ears. The idea then extends itself to this – “The medium is an environment that produces effects.” I recommend picking up this fascinating book, it’s a mere $12.71 at Amazon right now.
Tags: Books, Graphic Art, Marshall McLuhan
April 7th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
What a coincidence, I just began reading The Medium Is the Message. It’s written with a very academic density; the prose is elegant but tough to chew on. Also recommended:
The Medium is the Massage.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
And here are free MP3s from the LP version.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:34 am
McLuhan manages to stay relevant in the best ways.
My master’s thesis title was an adaptation on his most famous aphorism, “The Medium is the Metaphor,” one that I’m still exploring, this time in book form.
McLuhan fans or anyone curious in Portland should’ve come by my house before I moved: I ditched over thirty of his books.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Ah man…ditched!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Well, by “ditched” I mean “sold to Powell’s.” :]