The "message" in the medium.
In the 1960's Marshall McLuhan, an English professor at the University of Toronto, wrote a book on communication theory, arguing that media are "extensions of man."And that, their ultimate significance is not in the content they contain or in their form per se--but in the "message" they convey. Thus, his memorable phrase, "the medium is the message."
In my experience of being at the Acropolis in Athens, observing (unavoidably aware of the limits of my own imagination) and listening to descriptions of its size and artistic features, I was struck by the still palpable evidence of the massive structure's "message," even though its structural magnificence is so significantly diminished.
In one of his sonnets (#116) Shakespeare celebrated the permance of love, in a similar perspective:
"Love's nnot Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with the brief hurs and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:--
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
America has little interest in old or ancient things. We tear down buildings when they are still usable, and build something new. We trade out a car every three years, and we run out right away to buy the newest TV or iphone. I loved the ruins of Greece and Rome. They have lost their newness and original granduer, but they are still standing. I find beauty in character, strength, and perseverance. The amount of work that it took to build them, the time and thought spent in designing them, and the pride they had when they saw the final product is missing in our world.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful that I had the opportunity to see them, and I will cherish that forever.