Citation for Marshall McLuhan
Chaya Leverton on Nov 12th 2012
McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962. 293. Print
In his book McLuhan explores the effects of mass media, especially the printing press, on our culture and consciousness. He coins the term “global village” to describe how mass-communication allows a village-like mindset to apply to the entire world. He writes that electronic interdependence would put an end to print culture and then we will move from individualism and fragmentation to a collective identity. He says, “The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village.” McLuhan’s idea connects to my point that we live in a new era of technological dependence and interconnectedness. We are leaving our older methods behind in exchange for new technologies. These new technologies are connecting us and reshaping our society and culture. As we come to depend on these technologies, we also come to depend on those who help us produce them. Our society- and even our world- is becoming a “global village” where everyone is connected and everyone contributes to a greater goal. We are losing our individualism and self-sufficiency, but what we gain is far greater; we gain a tight-knit, interconnected society in which everyone plays an important role.