Harbingers of Modern Media

I have to agree with Maggie, one of the most enlightening things McLuhan had to say during that video was his commentary of the rear-view tendencies of the world and the present sight of the artists. This really, however, should come as no great surprise once given a moment of consideration. Artists, for time beyond measure, have honed their tools to make commentary about modern culture and in many ways become heralds of the coming future, harbingers of danger.

We see this in our traditional art such as painting and sculpture as well as the less notable arts like literature, spoken word art, performance art and even in the vein of new media. In this modern age these artists must use the tools given to them, adapting to this new media, not only to gain the interests and attention of their audience but to reach wider audiences on a much grander scale. Through this new media we see the same sense of foresight. We see this is movies, modern media performances and even video games as Mark had mentioned.

Here at the University of Denver we see a prime example of this. In the gaming department we have begun to see a current trend lending towards what is currently called ‘humane gaming’ or gaming with a conscience. These games, like the game ‘Squeezed’ that was developed here at DU, shed light on many different issues that are current and facing our society as a whole, like the immigrant workers portrayed in the aforementioned game. It is only recently that we see companies using the medium of video games for much more than entertainment but to raise a level of consciousness and awareness that appeal to us from the angle of video game entertainment.

On a whole, however, we also can analyze the trend of our modern culture in the grips of this rear-view analogy that McLuhan offers. More than once we have seen this metaphor alluding to society being led like a series of lemmings (and inherent is another video game analogy). With modern technology we often find ourselves so entirely focused on the question of whether or not we can, we never stop to ask whether or not we should. Technology is being developed at such a rapid pace that we, as a society, are hardly given time to adapt to this new change before another monumental change is upon us. Constantly we’re in a state of hurry, as if there was some mad race towards a finish line only imagined, and it only prevents us from taking a moment to stop and consider where we are headed or what goal we’re truly after.

I suppose that is the method I see. The question that follows is, will we ever take a moment to stop, breathe and consider where this mad rush is leading us? Will we ever heed the warning of the artists living in the present before is far too late?