McLuhan
I thought the second half of the video today was interesting because it showed an even more ludicrous, insane character portrait of Marshal McLuhan. The comments from his wife and son, along with the clip of his daughter’s wedding day and the fact that another daughter produced the film made it even more notable. None of them were outrightly bitter or opposed to him, but they did, I think, paint a picture of a stubborn, slightly neurotic man. The best was when he was lying on the couch, talking out of one side of his mouth like he was A) dreamily drugged or B) on a psychiatrists couch and talking about how he only reads the right side of books. His claim that he used his own intellect and knowledge to “fill in the blanks” was ridiculous to the point of hilarity. A classic example of a know-it-all who is a fool. I’m not saying he didn’t say anything true or profound, but he discredits his own self just in the way he lived/was. All the critics basically said the same thing: he was a nice guy but confusing and often unfounded. Makes me wonder how much I can really take of his as usable knowledge, but then again it is good to question everything.
