Speeding off of a cliff (the new technology)-- while staring at the rearview mirror

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!

Reality TV-- sometimes a powerhouse

Scripted TV drama does very little for me. Feels limited, and kinda hokey. You know the scripting routine.  A bunch of writers and jaded executives try to drum up a plot line with "high stakes"-- often involving guns and/or the end of the world. Reality TV, on the other hand, has a fresh team of writers-- the performers themselves. The result is you can get a more nuanced view of life from reality TV and it gets more popular by the day.

I caught two reality shows last night that I don't know that well-- a Kardashian segment called "Kourtney and Khloe Do the Hamptons," or something to that effect, and "Nellyville," a new BET show profiling the rap singer and some of his youthful inner circle.

The show featuring Nelly and what looked to be two teenage sons and a teenage niece had a nice appeal. All the kids had a gangly, sincere quality that stands apart from child actors. One boy struggled with a football injury, possibly career-ending. Nelly asked the kid if he had a Plan B, should football not work out. The young guy came up with "I could be a football analyst," as a career option and Nelly challenged him to offer some football commentary right on the spot. The kid admitted he had nothing to day. At least he amused by his own lack of commentating chops. The youngster smiled and, have to admit, Nelly had done a nifty piece of instant parenting. Later in the show, the youngster tossed a football with his older brother tossed on the sands on a LA beach. They counseled each other-- a nice exchange-- and the brother even thanked his older sibling!

The niece, a 18 year old girl with aspirations to be a model, wanted badly to participate in a twerking class with a more mature woman, seemed to be Nelly's significant. Nelly had sternly warned not to allow the 18 year old to twerk. It didn't work and they had but a great scene in twerking class where the youngster could not help herself. She twisted, turned and moved around until she finally worked her way into the action. And she's a great dancer.

The entire crew of kids and pater familias visited the set of "Real Husbands of Hollywood," another BET show, featuring Nelly, Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon. The show's co-producer showed the kids around and got some nice laughs comparing his fitness level and physique to the show's stars. The kids seemed happy to have a more educated view of the world of TV and we viewers got a similar feeling of contentment from the time spent in the company of Nelly and family.

Maybe I'll skip a discussion of the Kardashians-- and stick with "Nellyville" as a prime example of the positive side of reality TV.