The Language of New Media: Marshall McLuhan

In McLuhan's article New Media: The Guerilla Culture to Gadget Art he addresses the definitions and effects of "new media" in our culture. To him, new media can be broken down into two groups, art observers and the "lay public." The public group holds a paranoid perspective towards the recent advancements in technology despite ironically using it everyday. He draws comparisons of technology from the comic book boom in the 1960s where parents sheltered their kids from the imaginative stories that "hindered" their developmental growth. Of course as time passed it became evident that the books had no such impact, if anything the books artistically benefited the young minds of that era- but that's a whole other discussion.

With new media comes new ways of expression. Take this very class for example, without the many programs and advanced components available we could not create/deliver the visual messages we intended. Same goes with the vast conection artists have for inspiration through media.

To McLuhan, new media is not visual art, it is a developing art form. It's a neutral device that becomes political through the individual operating it. In the hands of industrial and commercial conglomerates, international television has become fully commercialized- filled with product placement and advertised messages, some more blatant than others.

An interesting perspective he uses is the Indonesian revolution of new media. Beginning in the late 80s, private television became available to the general public- something that the government realized could hold great power if controlled. However with great power comes great responsibility, with the introduction of global TV and eventually the internet, a guerrilla rebellion took place that knocked down the central government. This modern situational example clearly shows the potential power of new media for an oppressed culture. I find it fascinating in this day and age that governments are able to successfully suppress all outer influence of technology and media.