Obama: the medium is the message - or am I just a cynic

[kimclemens]

 "Extremely symbolical", "of huge historical significance" and even "transcending history". Newspapers and blogs fall short of words in their attempt to describe Obama's inauguration. The start of a new era, a world of hope and above all : change. Yes We Can! is what we shout. 'No we can't', will - probably- be what we'll have to realise.

Everyone

Comments

[cayman_x]

I'm looking forward to discussing this over a beer at De Vissers... Friday night?

The message and the massage

[anonymous]

McLuhan chose ‘The Medium is the Message’ as title for his book but the printer turned it into ‘The Medium is the Massage’. A unvoluntary printing mistake but one that made history. Isn’t that what mass-media do? Media need an audience, the biggest audience possible. Be top-of-mind. They pamper and cradle their audience.
Isn’t that what advertising does? Create strong brands. Become a member of the band, the big band.
An who is to blame? Those millions of individuals who don’t want to be on their own, those who are all too happy to be part of the ‘big thing’, not of the ‘big think’.
Remember the little boy who said : « The emperor wears no clothes! ».
Remember Gui Béart who sang: « Le poète a dit la vérité. Il doit être exécuté ».
Today, I don’t know. Let’s see what happens, keep a critical eye open and take nothing for granted.