The medium is the message and we can do little about it

Marshall McLuhan famously said the medium is the message. The Canadian philosopher, and teacher of communications and literature, floated this epigram in his 1964 book, titled ‘Understanding Media: Extensions of Man’. He wrote in part, “...a medium is not something neutral – it does something to people. It takes hold of them. It rubs them off, it massages them and bumps them around...”

Almost six decades later, scholars are not agreed on McLuhan’s witticism. In our village of Emanyulia, we think however that we understand what this iconic professor meant. We know him to be saying that the message is as good as the medium that conveys it. We have turned McLuhan around. We see him to be saying that the message is three things. First, it is the substance. But it is also the messenger and the channel. We cannot separate the three. Hence, if you should send the village night runner to us, we will not take you seriously.