MARSHALL MCLUHAN - MEDIUM IS THE MASSAGE

Marshall McLuhan is known for coining the expressions the 'Medium is the Massage' and 'Global Village'. He is the author of the book 'Medium is the Massage'.

According to Marshall McLuhan, technologies - from clothes to the wheel and beyond - are the messages themselves, not the content of the medium.

According to Marshall McLuhan, modern audiences have formed current media to be soothing, enjoyable and relaxing. However, the pleasure we find in new media is deceiving, as the changes between society and technology are incongruent and perpetuate an 'age of anxiety'.

According to him, modern media are extensions of human senses. They expand our ability to perceive the world to an extent that would be impossible without media. These extensions of perception contribute to McLuhan's theory of Global Village which would bring humanity full circle. 

Additional Information

Herbert Marshall Mc Luhan was born on 21st July 1911 in Canada. He majored in English Literature. He got a teaching job at the University of Toronto where he came in contact with communication studies expert Harold Innis.

He wrote many books, which generated much debate. Literary critics were dissatisfied with him for associating himself with media studies and did not agree with his ideas and demanded their scientific verification. 

His first major publication, The Mechanical Bride was published in 1951 in which he explored the effects of advertising on society and culture. 

Mc Luhan gave us the concept of world as a global village. he believed that with the ever-evolving communication technology man would be able to overcome the barriers of time and distance and mankind would become one family. The internet has confirmed this belief. His critics said that his idea of global village was a proof of his being a romanticist who believed that the global village was a utopia where everything was hunky dory.

Marshall Mc Luhan coined three theories in relation to the effects of advertisement on society. They are: 

1. Objects of desire - Where women are portrayed as desirable objects to men, in order to sell products back to the same women.

2. Technological Extensions of the human body - where in technology is now being substituted for the human body for any type of work or action.

3. Dangers of technological extensions - This relates to how technology is dangerous and we know it. But because of its luxurious advantages, we choose to ignore it.