Implosion, simulation and the pseudo-event: a critique of McLuhan

Abstract

Recent years have seen a renewed interest in Marshall McLuhan's media theory. For many, his description of an electronic society and culture is more recognizable today than it was in his lifetime, and his influence is discernible in the work of many contemporary media thinkers and in the concerns of mainstream media and cultural studies. Despite the common identification of Jean Baudrillard as one of the most important McLuhanists, and even as 'the French McLuhan', this paper argues that, in his adoption, extension, radicalization and reversal of McLuhan's ideas, and in his debt to the work of Daniel Boorstin, Baudrillard's work constitutes instead a radical critique of McLuhan's conclusions. This critique is explored through a discussion of the central concepts of implosion, simulation and the pseudo-event.

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