8 AM. The alarm clock raves its usual message to wake up. Mother assists in awakening the beast that remains in the sheets. Defeated, it rises from short slumber; Saturday morning was a cruel mistress. The first thing accomplished was opening up the laptop, skimming through Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, maybe even some Youtube videos before an 8 hour shift at work. There is no reason to do so, but that’s what happens. Towel in hand, the shower waits to be used; once its job is complete, the rush begins. Run downstairs. Turn on the news. Switch over to Teletoon. Back to the news again. Check cellular device for messages. Find contact, and create message. The routine is repetitive; it’s been committed to memory. Leave the house. Jack in headphones to ipod. “Love story” plays. The choice of Taylor Swift is questioned, but pushed aside. An advertisement for Tim Horton’s French Onion soup takes advantage of the horizon. Onion. Ogres. Layers. Shrek. Passing by HMV, John Mayer catches viewpoint; Battle Studies. New CD. Must have. By the time work has been approached, the alarm clock raves again: the message of lateness. Punch in, take out cellular device and play Tetris. Read the Newspaper when on break. Go back to work and finish the rest of my shift. Go home and send message to contact via cellular device. Facebook. Youtube. 3 AM. Sleep.
That is how a Saturday usually works for me; whether or not we relate is up for debate. The main point of this short story was to demonstrate how this thing called the Mass Media plays a vital role in our lives.
Now what is the Mass Media, you may ask?
A) a place where a massive amount of books are placed?
B) a building with a plentiful amount of TVs?
C) a computer screen with multiple windows open?
Actually, you could say all of these are forms of mass media. OR:
A) is a library where people can get information
B) a Best Buy where people can buy TVs and other electronic hardware
C) a clever way to switch windows when your mom walks in unexpectedly, thinking you are doing your blogs but you are actually watching porn. We are adults now. Guilt free.
That’s a basic explanation, of course: The mass media is designed to reach out to people using television, books or the Internet. What does this mean through our perspective though? According to Neil Postman, people live in two environments. “One is the natural environment and consists of things like air, trees, rivers, and caterpillars. The other is the media environment, which consists of language, numbers, images, holograms, and all of the other symbols, techniques, and machinery that make us what we are.”
It is kind of interesting because it is these 2 environments combined that fabricates our reality as human beings. Going back to my Saturday conundrum, I was unaware of all the media that was reaching out to me: television, music, telephone, newspaper and advertising. (“Man remains as unaware of the psychic and social effects of his new technology as a fish of the water it swims in” (Marshall McLuhan).)
Although these 2 environments are different, they have become so attached to one another that if one were to collapse, the other one would as well. If a city became disconnected from the Internet, it would create panic faster than a fish trying to get back into water. Our lives are supported by the media, and the Media needs our lives to be supported. The relationship is completely symbiotic.
Work Cited
“The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan”, Playboy Magazine, March 1969.” Nov 23 2009.
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