Mass Media

Mass media. A completely logical topic to explore seeing as the course I’m writing for is called “Mass Communications”. At the same time, the topic seems jarring – I’m a little scared to open up this can of worms and see the truth of how we – how I – am consumed by the mass media. The massive media.

I started writing something here, trying to define mass media when I stopped myself (thank you “Backspace” key). The massive media. My God, it’s everywhere, isn’t it? I recalled some Ian said in a lecture – there is absolutely NO way we can go a single day without our lives being mediated. Traditionally we think of mass media as the news paper, the internet. We seem to think of the various media in our lives as making things more convenient for us; having the news ready for us on demand when we want it, any other tidbit of information is available to us when WE desire to seek it. But as Postman wrote, doesn’t the medium really control us more than we control it?

(Yes)

But how can this be? If media is just an extension of our bodies or our senses [1] then don’t we have the power to stop it? I’m not proud of it, but I just saw the movie “Eagle Eye”. In that film, without giving away the ending, the technology we’ve become so accustomed to in our everyday lives begins turning on us. Our cell phones, our computers, the traffic lights, electronic billboards all tell us what to do, where to go – even before they turn all evil on us. It’s like Frankenstein’s monster – we created it, now we have to stop. But in real life, it’s not ONLY the technological creations. Think about how many times a simple street sign has led you astray.

OR, I suppose, we could be a little more positive. Maybe we should accept that, yes, technology is ever and yes, it can and will be used to manipulate us (in every sense of the word). But we as consumers of the mass media and the messages they spew at us can be cautious and intelligent patrons. That’s why this course is not only interesting but important; and that’s why it’s being taught to school age children – so that perhaps the next generation won’t be nearly as reliant on the technology their ancestors created. Maybe they’ll look back on us and laugh, or depending on how the next few decades and centuries go, weep.

[1] Playboy, "The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan." Playboy Magazine March 1969 28 Sep 2008 . <http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~gisle/links/mcluhan/pb.html>.

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin USA, 1985.