Marshall McLuhan was interviewed by Playboy magazine in 1969. McLuhan, the oracle of Toronto, teaches us more about the present moment, 2017, then any of our media critics or the talking heads on cable TV. I've truncated the following portion of the interview for the sake of brevity.
PLAYBOY: Is the public, then, at last beginning to perceive the "invisible" contours of these new technological environments?
McLUHAN: People are beginning to understand the nature of their new technology, but not yet nearly enough of them-- and not nearly well enough. Most people, as I indicated, still cling to what I call the rearview-mirror view of the world.
Because we are benumbed by the new technology-- which in turn creates a totally new environment-- we tend to make the old environment more visible...
In the midst of the electronic age of software, of instant information movement, we still beleve we're living in the mechanical age of hardware.
We reverse the old educational dictum of learning by proceeding from the familiar to the unfamiliar by going from the unfamiliar to the familiar, which is nothing more of less that the numbing mechanism that takes place whenever new media drastically extend our senses.
You must read the entirety of this interview-- highly recommended.
First off, how amazing that Professor McLuhan speaks about "software" and "instant information movement" in 1969! His critics dismissed his prophetic teachings-- disdainfully rejecting his theorie as "technological determinism." And now you see almost every single pedestrian staring at his cellphone, totally enslaved by the instant information flow seducing all of us. Technological determinism indeed!
The news media salivated mightily over Donald Trump's 7 tweets this morning-- including one which mentioned Trump's reference to possibly taping his conversation with James Comey in the Oval Office. The pundits stated that Trump's behavior mimicked Richard Nixon's tapes of phone conversations-- and concluded Trump is a new version of the President Nixon, a cynical, suspicious paranoid personality brought down by his own insecurities. The media turned to the past to understand the present. Trump must be like Nixon, so the thinking goes.
Trump has his flaws, but he's not a new Nixon. Trump fancies himself the new Reagan. He is neither Nixon nor Reagan. Trumps talks constantly-- especially if we consider Tweets to be a form of conversation. Nixon was secretive, careful, circumspect. Reagan called "the great communicator" liked and mastered the television medium. Both men had considerable experience with the American political process, Nixon famously struggled with the television medium in his debate with John F. Kennedy.
Trump is something of a television expert-- and now he is the most popular TV show in television history-- including the daily soap opera co-star Sean Spicer in his White House briefings. Trump lives the hot lights of media attention but has no sense of political realities. Very few explanations of Trump can be found in the TV annals, not even from his own show-- Celebrity Apprentice.
So, how do we understand Trump? His adversaries focus on Trump's lack of morality and the absence of a political ideology. Perhaps the absence of morality and absence of a political philosphy actually do explain Trump. He's working as an improvisational performer-- staying a step ahead of the pundits by not thinking through all the rational details. He speaks more like a comedian-- and he worked wonders with that method on the campaign trail.
Every week gets more interesting than the week before. Trump has brought Reality TV to the White House and embraced Twitter as his secret weapon. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing. Expecting him to "act Presidential" seems a lost cause. He's playing by a new set of rules. None of us understand them and the rearview mirror is providing no help whatsoever.
Put on your seat belt. Dr. Hunter Thompson, the gonzo political satirist for Rolling Stone magazine, is a man much-needed at the present moment. He likes to say "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Trump seems like a pro in a roomful of amateurs, cub reporters with their pencils behind their ears. Trump likes unscripted, reality television and now he does it full-time. He lives in the moment and casts all previous truths aside.
I've noticed people are turning to artists and poets for an explanation of the present angst. McLuhan always praised artists as the only people willing to look at the present. The artists among us may provide the best answers.
Mr. McLuhan, we must praise you every day!
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