Marshall McLuhan argued that media are extensions of human senses, fundamentally altering the scale, speed, and patterns of human interaction
Mrinal Chatterjee
Sixty years after Marshall McLuhan’s groundbreaking concept, the phrase- ‘the Medium is the Message’, remains a cornerstone of media theory. Coined in his 1964 book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan’s insight revealed that the form of a medium, rather than its content, profoundly influences how messages are perceived and society is shaped. This revolutionary idea reshaped how we understand communication, culture, and technology.
Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) argued that media are extensions of human senses, fundamentally altering the scale, speed, and patterns of human interaction. Television, for example, was not just a channel for broadcasting stories but a medium that redefined collective experiences, shifting societies toward image-centric communication. Today, in the era of smartphones, social media, and artificial intelligence, McLuhan’s idea resonates louder than ever. Platforms like Instagram or Facebook exemplify his claim, as their structures shape cultural norms, behaviors, and even personal identity.
The legacy of ‘the Medium is the Message’ lies in its timeless applicability. As new technologies emerge, McLuhan’s framework provides a lens to analyze how they transform society. Sixty years on, his work is a reminder to scrutinize not just what we consume, but the tools that deliver it, and how they mould human experience.
Books and Readers
This may come as a surprise to people who rue and complain that the book reading habit is on the wane in India.
According to a survey by CEOWORLD magazine among book readers in 102 countries, United States and India undeniably hold the top positions for the highest percentages of book readers. The United States leads in the frequency of book reading. Americans read an average of 17 books per year, and Indians read 16 books. Both Americans and Indians continue to favour paper books over e-books or audio books despite the growing trend towards electronic media.
When it comes to reading time, India ranked first in the list with an extraordinary average of 10 hours and 42 minutes spent reading per person per week. This high number speaks for the rich literary culture of this country.
The Tale of the First Cinema Hall in India
The oldest single-screen movie theatre in India was started in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1907. It was located at 5/1 Chowringhee Place. Known as the Elphinstone Picture Palace, it was built by Jamshedji Framji Madan (April 27, 1857 – June 28, 1923), an Indian theatre and film magnate and one of the pioneers of film production in India. He had a hotel – Central Hotel in Darjeeling in 1905. The hotel still exists as Central Hotel Heritage.
He also opened Madan Theatre and Palace of Varieties (now known as Elite Cinema). In 1919, Madan produced the first Bengali feature film, “Bilwamangal”. It was first screened in the Cornwallis Theatre (now known as the Sree Cinema). The Electric Theatre (now known as Regal Cinema), Grand Opera House (currently known as Globe Cinema) and Crown Cinema (now known as Uttara Cinema) were all owned by his joint stock company, Madan Theatres Limited. The company reached a peak in the late 1920s when it owned 127 theatres and controlled half of the country’s box office.
After the company gave up control, the theatre was renovated and came to be known as Minerva Cinema which played host to hundreds of Hollywood movies.
The attendance started dwindling in the 1960s and the building started to show its age. In order to revitalize the theatre, Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) took over the ownership in the 1980s and renamed it ‘Chaplin’. Unfortunately, they did not have much luck either and decided to close the theatre and demolish the building in 2013. Today Charlie Chaplin Square stands where India’s first theatre used to be. It has been demolished by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to build a citizens’ service centre.
Cartoon Exhibition
Hyderabad based cartoonist M.S. Ramakrishna used to draw a comics series titled ‘Hubby’ for fortnightly Caravan for more than a decade since 1976. A banker by profession, Ramakrishna was a self-taught cartoonist.
Bangalore based Indian Institute of Cartoonists will host an exhibition of his selected works at the Indian Cartoon Gallery on 7 December 2024. Its annual magazine Cartoonists India 2024 will also be released on that occasion. I’ll be there. Visit the exhibition, if you are in Bangalore.
Tea
Life is like a cup of tea. It’s all in how you make it.
(Courtesy: Social Media)
(The author is Regional Director Indian Institute of Mass Communication, IIMC Dhenkanal. Views expressed are personal)
#MarshallMcLuhan #Media #Books #Reading #CinemaHall #Theatre #Cartoon #Tea
