mcluhan's wake dvd

Reading McLuhan, his beliefs are strong but often disconnected between one chapter to the next. He devoted his life to creating awareness about the effects of media on our society, almost a warning to the future that is to come. "McLuhan's Wake," narrated by Laurie Anderson sheds light into the personal life of McLuhan in an attempt to understand his thinking. A notable feature of his life is his devotion to the Christian faith, a decision he chose to make later in life. This news makes me reconsider many of his statements. To choose to study the bible as the word of god and to let the writing dictate his life is very similar to the one-way transmission of television that he so adamantly warns against. In addition, he continues to fight throughout his life just to preach his message about media, despite university colleague's disapproval and major illness. His books and ideas seemed to him as a way to "save" the public from the evils of media.

It's interesting to analyze his thoughts now, in the internet age, as the democratized internet format turns the one-way television message upside down. Though, his concerns about advertising are still very relevant since agencies are increasingly trying to find more insidious ways to integrate their ads.