A Return to Understanding Media

To understand the phenomena that is Donald Trump, I went straight to the source. The source in terms of understanding media is Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan wrote Understanding Media over 50 years ago, and I wanted to find out if the ideas that were revolutionary then might still apply in the Computer Age.

Sure enough, some of the controversies and media hype surrounding this campaign season were things that could be plugged in to the ideas McLuhan wrote about in the sixties. For example, the idea of subliminal acceptance was one that McLuhan equated to be like a prison without walls. “If you cannot see where you are going, how can you be free?”, he asks. In that sense, the type of mindless pabulum that we, as viewers and consumers of mass media, have been subjected to, not only in the political campaigns, but through television and electronic devices and mass media at large come into question.

We have become numb and disbelieve practically everything we hear or read! That’s one of the take-aways from this election season. It’s no wonder that the Pied Piper in the form of Donald Trump has mesmerized people by telling them to wake up. He is figuratively slapping people in the face and telling them to stop the subliminal acceptance that is around us. Bernie Sanders has done the same.

It’s thinking outside the box that people profess to admire. And it’s akin to one of my favorite films. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy lives in a black and white world until she opens the door to Oz and discovers this beautiful new world surrounded by bright flowers and little people wearing gorgeously colored clothes. That is the figurative reasoning for the 21^st Century acceptance of the Trump phenomenon.

Comments

A list of Land Mines Trump is headed for

Here's the "short list" of all of Trump's incoming land mines as he hurtles towards his date with Destiny at the Inauguration. List of Donald Trump Landmines 1) Conflicts of Interest- His Business Interests are global 2) Billionaire (& Military) Cabinet appointments 3) Trump's Foreign Affair Shortfalls: The Knowledge Gaps 4) Trump's Mind-set: Bigotry, Racism, Misogyny- Remember how much "the blacks" loved him? 5) Race-baiting Divisive Language : His Pettiness & Ego 6) The Conspiracy Theories -the weird beliefs-beginning with Birtherism. 7) His Temperament & Tweets & Trade wars -just the Tweets & Marketing that could turn on him 8) Immigration! -Building the Wall 9) Obamacare Repeal- what do you do with 20 million people +? Democratic Strongholds: Hillary's Laundry List of just some of the initiatives that were promoted by her in her speeches and on her website. These should be the bedrock ...

Katy Bar the Door: The Fall of the House of Reagan

· Can this Marriage be Saved? There seems to be a disturbance in the force with the Tea Party activists and the rare seldom sighted moderate Republicans all coming out of the woodwork to ask what happened. There seems to be no way to reunite the odd, feuding factions that have erupted into deep schisms in the Republican Party. All one can do is to grab popcorn and stay tuned for what The Donald will do or say next… · Can he be Stopped? If you plaster his face at the post office, with the caption below Donald Trump’s picture reading, Can Someone stop this man?, would anyone be able to act? The GOP seems to be in a panic suddenly, as they realize that this man is soon to become the new face of the Grand Old Party. · Old adages do apply: “ Nice Guys Finish Last ” We’ve learned over the course of the last few weeks that those tired old ...

Seinfeldian Moments in Strangelove

Dr. Strangelove plays this month on Turner Classic. If you have ever reminisced about the Seinfeld moments in your life, you might appreciate these Seinfeldian moments in the film, Dr Strangelove, or: How I Learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. *1) The Big Board : General Buck Turgidson is completely paranoid about the Russians being able to see “the Big Board”. Haven’t you ever thought about how childish the rules and games are that the highest in command play as they move people and entire cultures around on their imaginary chess boards? *2) Precious Bodily Fluids : I can never think of fluoride in the same way after hearing Sterling Hayden as the deranged Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper talk seriously about how fluoridation of the water was sapping his “precious bodily fluids.” *3) Slim Pickens is for ever immortalized as he is riding the rocket at the end of the film. It’s been reported that Pickens was not told he wa...

Red State/Blue State

Search This Blog