The Medium is the Message

I have, in fact, read McLuhan's article before in a different film related class, so I did not find it as difficult to wrap my head around what McLuhan states. But, when I was first introduced to the concept, I did find it a bit confusing. I think the best way to understand McLuhan's concept is to actually compare mediums that are trying to convey the same message. My freshman year, I took a class called "Translating Mediums," which discussed the transformation a written work will undergo when transitioning into a performed piece (in other words, a play) and then into a recorded piece (in other words, a film). It is amazing how differently a single message can be altered based on the medium in which it is presented. A great example of how the medium can strongly impact the message is by looking at the film Les Miserables. Les Mis is blockbuster musical that was then recently turned into a blockbuster film. The medium of film, in relation to Les Miserables, completely alters the purpose of certain characters as a result of the limitations film creates, such as a shorter duration. For instance, in the musical, Eponine dies after she delivers a love letter from Marius to Cosette. In the film, she dies by sacrificing herself for Marius. Since theatergoers are used to action occurring offstage, Eponine's death is acceptable, but since filmgoers wish to see everything unravel in front of their eyes, she has to die in a different way and onscreen. The differing styles of death as a result of the differing mediums causes the character of Eponine to change drastically. I realize this may be slightly confusing if you haven't seen both versions of Les Miserables, so here is the first part of a lecture by McLuhan himself. In the video, McLuhan explains his idea of "the medium is the message."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImaH51F4HBw