The Medium Is The Message Part 1
I’ve been reading Shane Hipps’ latest book, “Flickering Pixels” with great joy. Much of his work is based on Marshall McLuhan’s 1964 book, “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man“. Marshall makes the statement that the medium is the message. In other words, any form of media, be it oral, print, TV or electronic carries with it an inherent bias that affects the consumption of the message.
This carries important ramifications as society moves toward the most influential and impacting medium of all time: the Internet. What does it mean when content consumption happens within the context of a virtual, online, time and space warping medium? What about the gospel? What biases does the Internet carry for the great word?
Let’s start with a simple example from Shane’s book.
The boy is sad.
Now look at this picture.
Both convey the same message. The print statement invokes the part of your brain that processes words and logic in a sequential left to right progression. The picture on the other hand, invokes the emotion section.
If you look at only the print statement, you are consuming this content from your logical left-brain. You are more attuned to wanting to find out why the boy is sad. Is he sad because he misses his dad? Is he sad because he got punished? Questions swirl as you seek to find the answer to the question, “why is the boy sad?”
On the other hand, your subjective right-brain looks at the picture and feels a strong emotional connection. Something horrible must have gone wrong. How do I help this boy? What can I do to right the wrong?
In both situations, while the message is the same, each medium creates an inherent bias. Print-based messages invoke greater logic and analytical exposure. It is rational, objective and is able to look at parts in sequential order and create understanding from the integration of smaller parts. Picture-based messages on the other hand, completely bypasses the need to be logical. Instead it is intuitive, holistic, subjective and looks at the whole.
Shane illustrates this point with another example. In the early days of medieval church, reading was not prolific. Most people did not have access to the bible. The church was more graphical in nature. You see stain-glass windows in churches illustrating the gospel. There was a bias for action-oriented messages that could easily be conveyed in a picture. Jesus healed the sick. Jesus cast out demons. Jesus hung on the cross. Jesus rose from the grave.
Unfortunately this had the effect of downplaying abstractions such as a case for the renewing of our mind and spirit; the epistles of Paul for example. How do you explain the concept of redemption by grace and not works? How do you illustrate the new covenant? The letters of Paul were seldom taught because stain-glass windows or illustrated prayer books could not convey its subtle meanings. It was not until the Printing Press and the Protestant Reformation came that the theological reasonings of Paul’s letters became a cornerstone of our Christian understanding today.
The print medium too has its problems. Over reliance on linear reasoning led to the false believe that the gospel could be established and propagated through fact and reasoning alone. It created a bias toward the mind and in turn downplayed the role of the Holy Spirit.
So what does this mean for the Church in the age of the Internet? Stay tuned for part 2.
Colin Wong lives with his wife and three kids in the always sunny, never rainy wonderful land of Seattle.
