Or Punster? Perhaps both. The whole light bulb segment seems ripe for such efforts and McLuhan does not disappoint. On page 203 he states, "the instance of the electric light may prove illuminating... the electric light is pure information." I thought the pun here was pretty funny. I may be victim of the same illness he had.
However, what really caught my attention a moment ago was the idea of the light as the first computer. Think about it, the light bulb, in single context, is binary; it is on or off, 1 or 0. Sitting here in the airport though, the light I just observed was illuminating (there it is again) an advertisement for I don't know what. However, at the moment the light went form 0 to 1, the medium, the light, became the message, the advertisement. I find that kinda cool.
I was also somewhat stunned by McLuhan's comment on p. 208 where he states, "He acquires the illusion of the third dimension and the 'private point of view' as part of his Narcissus fixation, and it's quite shut off from Blake's awareness or that of the Psalmist, that we become what we behold." Become what we behold indeed; I consider this a direct connection to our Facebook world. Facebook is not a social network as much as it is a product machine. The product is not Farmville, Mafia Wars, or the ads; WE are the product. We have become what we have beheld. Did anyone else just get the bends? Ya, sorry. I went deep there.
All told, I think there is so much more in McLuhan's writing that I have not yet properly parsed. I have read some of this before from other COMM classes. I suspect I'll read it yet again more than once. I also expect I'll continue to derive new meaning and insights. Due to this, I accept most of what he posits; time will tell if I continue to feel that way.
Very interesting post Chato, I am always happy to read your posts because they offer a new perspective for me with some good humor as well. After reading this article, I too felt a new appreciation for his light bulb example. The light is truly a powerful medium without an inherent message. Sitting in a dark room, then having a light turned is a powerful difference maker in our lives even though the message, as we often perceive it, is not clear.
ReplyDeleteI must have missed that quote on page 208 but I found it very interesting and ominous. I think you are on something when you juxtapose that quote with our facebook world. Indeed we are all becoming products, each with different promotions, accessible to all on our profile pages. Keep up the good writing.
Thank you AG.
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