Out of Orbit 1999: The Life and Times of Marshall McLuhan

Broadcast: 1999 Director: Carl Bessai Writers: Carl Bessai, Manfred Becker Producer: Laura Lightbown Cinematography: Carl Bessai Editor: Manfred Becker Music: Vince Mai “Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media with which people communicate than by the content of the communication.“ - Marshall McLuhan Marshall McLuhan, one of Canada’s most influential and controversial figures, burst into the centre of media circles in North America with his strange and prophetic pronouncements - “electric light is pure information“ - on advertising, television and the emerging computer age. Known for his imaginative descriptions of the media environment, McLuhan coined the phrases ’the medium is the message’ and ’the global village.’ These two aphorisms still linger on the tongues of critics, philosophers and pop-culture makers as McLuhan’s predictions and revelations continue to be proven true over and over again. Initially celebrated, later doubted and recently resurrected, McLuhan has stood th