Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Two questions

for whoever feels like answering them.

1.) Is Marshall McLuhan worth reading?
2.) If so, where does one start?

6 comments:

Jonathan said...

Definitely worth it. His utopianism is a turn-off for some - Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and Friedrich Kittler's academic books (Gramophone, Film, Typewriter is especially worth a look - I prefer to anything McLuhan wrote) recast his ideas more pessimistically - but Understanding Media is the place to start. Influential book for his hot/cool media distinction and his argument that media technologies are extensions of the central nervous system. For what it's worth, a number of David Cronenberg's films - Videodrome and eXistenZ in particular - bear the stamp of McLuhan's thought.

Ted said...

Maybe consider starting with Walter Ong, a student of McLuhan's. His "Orality and Literacy" is partly an effort to lay some groundwork for McLuhan after the fact.

drip said...

McCluhan is definitely worth reading, though it has been decades since I've done so. His analysies and descriptions still pop into my head regularly. Best place to start? Annie Hall.

Picador said...

I'll second Jonathan above -- Understanding Media is a great starting point for exploring McLuhan's ideas (and, though tastes may vary, a pretty good ending point as well).

I went through a rabid McLuhan phase as a young man, but going back to his work now I have to say that Understanding Media was the only book of his that I read that really stands up well today. But it does, indeed, stand up pretty well, as long as you can handle his impressionistic style.

Ethan said...

Thanks, people--based on this advice I think I'll pick up Understanding Media, and if I have difficulty with it I'll regress to the Ong. Thanks again!

Ethan said...

Oh, and: haha, Annie Hall.