[Air-L] A Sunday morning curiosity: Marlon Brando and Medium Theory in 1953?

[Anders Sundnes Løvlie]

> the fear that
> a new medium will totally displace older ones, including speech itself



Plato put forward an argument of this kind, arguing that the medium of writing was inferior to the spoken word in dialogue, and believing that the act of writing made people loose their capacity for memorizing and ability to speak well (or something along that line). This is in "Phaedrus" and one of the letters I think.

Now, whether or not Plato is the cause for Jimmy's medium panic in 1953, I couldn't say…

Regards,
Anders Sundnes Løvlie
Gjøvik University College
english.hig.no