McLuhan’s most famous phrase is probably ‘the medium is the message’. This is still frequently used, but rarely understood as he intended it.
McLuhan uses the words ‘medium’ and ‘message’ in very distinct ways. For McLuhan, a medium is an extension of the human mind and/ or body: in this sense, clothing or a car or a light-bulb are just as much media as a television or radio or a newspaper.
Clothes are an extension of our skin (they keep us warm, dry, and – culturally – prevent us from being arrested).
A car extends our feet (we go faster, further…).
A light-bulb extends our eyes (we can watch a soccer match after dark, perform brain surgery at 3 in the morning).
This is a video example of Marshall McLuhan coming up with the Medium is the Message idea;
And this is a beautiful picture of Marshall McLuhan.....
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