Response to The Medium is The Message

The title at is very interesting. The medium is the message. As McLuhan has pointed out, not every medium is the message. So which medium is what message? Start from electric light to IBM information business to Shakespeare. The author did a great job pointing out that the content is the most important to notice. I totally agree with the author's statement in the artical that "There is simply nothing in the Sarnoff statement that will bear scrutiny, for it ignores the nature of the medium, of any and all media, in the true Narcissus style of one hypnotized by the amputation and extension of his own being in a new technical form." The nature of the medium is rather important. When the same message is transporting in the internet or in the newspaper, it would create totally different consequences. That is because people has different bias or has certain stereotypes according to certain media such as newspaper is the most authority, emails always transport spams and so on, which is true, partly. According to my understanding McLuhan is trying to show is the importance of the medium that carries the information. Especially the medium like TVs, movies, newspapers that are intimate to us, is a everyday practice of feeling as a part of a nation. I know I when I am reading the newspaper in the morning, there are hundred and thousands of people who are doing the same thing at the same time. I found a movie clip in Youtube that shows McLuhan's lecture of medium. It is very intresting so I put it here.