“The Medium is the Message”
“The Medium is the Message” is a statement made by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, concerning the way in which the perception of a medium, in other words ‘the form in which a message is presented’, determines the audience’s perception of that message. The statement means to emphasise how our pre-set expectations of different mediums such as newspapers, television, movies or documentaries effect what messages we receive. For example, if you were to watch a documentary about exorcisms and possessions, you would give it more credit than watching a horror movie, even if it claims to be ‘based on true events’. This is because we have a predetermined view that documentaries will present us with credible facts, to educate or inform us, whilst a movie’s only purpose is for entertainment. The validity of this statement is
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Minimalism is present in communities on social media, books have been published and journalists are reporting on the impact it has had on society. Clearly the way in which the case for minimalism is presented was effective in convincing the audience that their lives are better with less. The text, visuals and audio used within the documentary to convey this message were implemented in such a way that they both confronted the audience about selfish consumerism, whilst also convincing them that it was not entirely their own fault, but they could change their lives in their own way to live with less and become happier. This documentary is a clear demonstration of the validity of “the medium is the message”, as the viewers expectation of a documentary are cleverly manipulated, through the visuals, text and audio to influence us into a minimalistic lifestyle, and the effectiveness of this is evident in the global groups and movements towards minimalism we can see through the