Remembering Marshall McLuhan
Remembering Marshall McLuhan OCTOBER 1, 2022 BY GRANT HAVERS The Oracle of Mass Media It is impossible to undertake the study of mass media without considering the indelible influence of Marshall McLuhan (1911-80). McLuhan, who practically invented this discipline, had an uncanny gift for coining a catchy term (“global village”) or phrase (“the medium is the message”) that is well-known even to those who have never bothered to read his still-relevant works. Without his relentless determination to understand the subtle effects of the media on human consciousness and society, our understanding of these omnipresent technologies would be severely limited. Despite his enormous influence on the field of mass communication, McLuhan opposed the technological changes that swept the 20 th century, as he remarked in a 1966 interview: I am resolutely opposed to all innovation, all change, but I am determined to understand what’s happening. Because I don’t choose just to sit and let the juggern