I think the author makes an excellent point by telling is the "The medium in the message". I think a more universal interpretation of that statement is "it is not what is being held, but who its being held by." Basically, it doesn't matter what happens with the object or what people receive from the object. What matters is that the person was using the object and was influenced by it.
I started to understand what the author was saying when he made the reference to General David Sarnoff. The general's quote was: "We are too prone to make technological instruments the scapegoats for the sins of those who wield them. The products of modern science are not in themselves good or bad; it is the way they are used that determines their value." This is very true when it comes to modern warfare. The US does not count drone attacks on the Middle East an act of war. However, it is killing people just the same and is hurting many innocent civilians. Whenever something goes wrong with the drones, the US tells the people they have nothing to do with it because they were physically not there.
The author is telling us that even though we watch different movies and different TV shows on different channels, we are basically all sitting in front of a screen looking at illusions. We are not comprehending what is actually going on. We think we are entertaining ourselves and character A and talking to character B; however in reality, we are just staring at pictures. But more shocking is that we are basing our lives on the things we see. The events on TV are not only unlikely, but they do not exist in this world. Society and culture has started to be things that are fake, not real interactions with people.
We see people who get so enveloped in their TV shows that they actually act like the characters in real life. This is dangerous for people who are living in reality.When someone reads a book, they have to imagine their way through events. However, in TV, things are already imagined for people and are as real life as it can be. It requires the viewer to surrender to the given facts. And there is the danger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ykzhzlaQE
This is a movie about the differences of Hunger Games the movie and the book. In 2:00, the narrator makes a good point in saying "The book requires imagination while the movie requires you to surrender all your senses". I think that is what is most dangerous about movies.
Friday, November 23, 2012
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