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The Medium
Is the
Message
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Media
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Medium
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I t could be argued that these activities are i n some w a y the " c o n t e n t " o f the electric l i g h t , since they c o u l d n o t exist w i t h o u t the
electric light. T h i s fact merely underlines the p o i n t that "the
medium is the message" because i t is the m e d i u m that shapes and
controls the scale and f o r m o f human association and action. T h e
content or uses o f such media are as diverse as they are ineffectual
in shaping the f o r m o f human association. Indeed, i t is o n l y too
typical that the " c o n t e n t " o f any m e d i u m blinds us t o the character o f the medium. I t is o n l y today that industries have become
aware o f the various kinds o f business i n w h i c h t h e y are engaged.
W h e n I B M discovered that i t was n o t i n the business o f making
office equipment or business machines, b u t that i t was i n the
business o f processing i n f o r m a t i o n , then i t began to navigate w i t h
clear vision. T h e General Electric Company makes a considerable
p o r t i o n o f its profits f r o m electric l i g h t bulbs and l i g h t i n g systems.
I t has n o t y e t discovered that, quite as m u c h as A . T . & T . , i t is i n
the business of m o v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n .
T h e electric l i g h t escapes attention as a communication
medium just because i t has no "content. " A n d this makes i t an
invaluable instance o f h o w people fail t o study media at all. F o r
i t is n o t t i l l the electric l i g h t is used t o spell out some brand
name that i t is noticed as a medium. T h e n i t is n o t the l i g h t b u t
the " c o n t e n t " ( o r w h a t is really another m e d i u m ) that is noticed.
T h e message o f the electric l i g h t is l i k e the message o f electric
p o w e r i n industry, t o t a l l y radical, pervasive, and decentralized.
F o r electric light and p o w e r are separate f r o m their uses, y e t t h e y
eliminate time and space factors i n human association exactly as
do radio, telegraph, telephone, and T V , creating involvement
i n depth.
A f a i r l y complete handbook f o r s t u d y i n g the extensions o f
man could be made u p f r o m selections f r o m Shakespeare. Some
m i g h t quibble about whether or n o t he was r e f e r r i n g t o T V i n
these familiar lines f r o m Romeo and
Juliet:
But soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
I t speaks, and yet says nothing.
I n Othello, w h i c h , as m u c h as King Lear, is concerned w i t h
the tormen t of people transformed b y illusions, there are these
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be l i v i n g t h r o u g h the reverse process that Margaret Mead described i n Time magazine (September 4, 1954): " T h e r e are too
many complaints about society having t o move too fast t o keep
up w i t h the machine. There is great advantage i n m o v i n g fast i f
y o u move completely, i f social, educational, and recreational
changes keep pace. Y o u must change the w h o l e pattern at once
and the w h o l e group togetherand the people themselves must
decide t o m o v e . "
Margaret Mead is t h i n k i n g here of change as u n i f o r m speedup of m o t i o n or a u n i f o r m h o t t i n g - u p of temperatures i n backw a r d societies. W e are certainly c o m i n g w i t h i n conceivable range
o f a w o r l d automatically controlled to the p o i n t where w e could
say, "Six hours less radio i n Indonesia next week or there w i l l be
a great falling off i n literary attention." O r , " W e can program
t w e n t y more hours o f T V i n South A f r i c a next week t o cool
d o w n the tribal temperature raised b y radio last week. W h o l e
cultures could n o w be programmed t o keep their emotional
climate stable i n the same w a y that w e have begun t o k n o w somet h i n g about maintaining equilibrium i n the commercial economies
o f the w o r l d .
I n the merely personal and private sphere w e are often reminded o f h o w changes o f tone and attitude are demanded of
different times and seasons i n order to keep situations i n hand.
British clubmen, f o r the sake o f companionship and amiability,
have l o n g excluded the h o t topics of religion and politics f r o m
mention inside the h i g h l y participational club. I n the same vein,
W . H . A u d e n w r o t e , " . . . this season the man o f g o o d w i l l w i l l
wear his heart u p his sleeve, n o t o n i t . . . . the honest manly
style is today suited o n l y t o I a g o " ( I n t r o d u c t i o n t o John Betjeman's Slick But Not Streamlined).
I n the Renaissance, as p r i n t
technology hotted up the social milieu t o a v e r y h i g h point, the
gentleman and the courtier (HamletMercutio style) adopted,
i n contrast, the casual and cool nonchalance o f the p l a y f u l and
superior being. T h e Iago allusion o f A u d e n reminds us that Iago
was the alter ego and assistant of the intensely earnest and v e r y
non-nonchalant General Othello. I n imitation of the earnest and
f o r t h r i g h t general, Iago hotted u p his o w n image and w o r e his
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