Revolutionary and Enlightening: the impact of mass media since the printing press

Prior to the 15th century, knowledge, and therefore power was held in the hands of a few oligarchic institutions, chiefly the Roman Catholic Church. Most people were illiterate and the books that did exist were handwritten and copied by monks. Books were a rarity and were very expensive. With Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the late 1430s, Europe changed forever. The two adjectives I have chosen to describe this “impact of mass media” are revolutionary and enlightening, as I think they aptly illustrate how mass proliferation of ideas can change the status quo. By enlightening the common man, mass media has the power to cause a revolutionary change in power.

Such a revolution occurred with Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation and I believe the success of that revolution absolutely coincided with the invention of the printing press and the dissemination of free thought throughout the Holy Roman Empire and Europe. To me, this has always been one of the greatest revolutions in history as it broke the power and influence of the Catholic Church, which had long barred scientific and philosophical progress. One of Martin Luther’s first tasks was to translate the Bible from Latin to German so that the common German could read it. Part of the Catholic dogma at the time was that salvation could only be reached through a Catholic priest. Luther’s refutation of the doctrine was heresy, but he had major issues with a multitude of Papal doctrines and ultimately, his Reformation was a success.

Unlike the religious revolution mentioned above, mass media can also have a dark side. Nazi propaganda is the perfect illustration of how the control and strategic manipulation of media can cause a terrible war and uncountable murders. By controlling the press and media, and using national pride as it’s cover, the Nazi Party brought about a highly organized and efficient regime united under some negative ideals. This of course led to World War II, the Holocaust, and the invention of the atomic bomb, in my opinion some of the darkest days in recent history.

On a lighter side, it is because of mass media that we are able to learn about these revolutions and perhaps lead our own. The printing press brought in a new era of knowledge and discovery, forever changing Western Civilization. In fact, a period in the 17th and 18th centuries was called “The Age of Enlightenment.” It was during this time that philosophers, musicians, scientists and theorists such as John Locke, Sir Isaac Newton, Voltaire, Mozart, Bach completed their seminal works and the time when our own American revolution was born. Many historians would agree with me in saying that the proliferation of ideas through newspapers and pamphlets throughout the colonies had a direct impact on popular support for revolution. Obviously this is relevant today as we are all citizens of the United States of America.

The future of mass media is interesting to contemplate. The transition from print to digital was relatively quick in historical perspective and it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict what will happen next. Obviously, the Internet is one of the most enlightening and revolutionary innovations ever. It has connected the entire world at blazing fast speed; it has caused revolutions such as the Arab Spring; it has put infinite encyclopedia’s worth of data at my fingertips. What are the limits of this technology and what does the future hold in store for us? We can only hope that this millennium will be as enlightening and revolutionary as the last.

-Roger Gant
11/29/12

Two Adjectives

Widespread & Swaying

          “Swaying” is one adjective that fits the course, and the impact of mass media on Western Civilization, in reference to how propaganda was so much of a driving force of power in the 20^th century, especially in Germany. In order to gain what Hitler and Nazism strived for, oftentimes, they enlisted the use of swaying propaganda. They were able to use artwork as a tool to depict Jewish people in a cruel manner. Nazis were able to insert Hitler’s white face, and black hair, with a jet-black background onto his campaign poster, in order to depict Hitler in a way that showed absolute authority. They also did this by making posters of Hitler in a authoritative Renaissance pose, with a caption of “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer!” Translated, this phrase means, “One People, One Nation, One Leader!” Certainly, the intention of this poster was to assert Hitler’s supreme rule over the German state.

           

           It is important to note that prior to the dawn of Johannes Gutenberg (1398 – February 3, 1468), and his venerated Gutenberg Press, there was an absence of widespread media available to the general European public. Gutenberg’s printing press is widely regarded as one of the most important inventions/events of the 2^nd Millennia, A.D.

At the time of Gutenberg, for the common European man, media, higher education, and widespread knowledge were fundamentally inaccessible because these concepts were essentially only accessible to those who spoke Latin. Those particulars that spoke Latin were, for the most part, ordained members of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who were scholars. For those who spoke different vernaculars other than that of the Church, knowledge, and media (at the time, a few books, and the Bible) were not widespread, by any means. In fact, they were inaccessible for others before Luther’s Bible, translated from Hebrew & Ancient Greek texts into German. The Church was able to take advantage of the superstitions and ignorance of the common European around the time of Gutenberg & Martin Luther, due to the overall lack of books, literature, and recorded (up-to-date) knowledge within the common European languages at the time. Indulgences, one of the Church’s biggest hoaxes that involved paying a sum of money to a clergyman in order for forgiveness of one’s sins, were only able to occur because the Church had taken advantage of the general lack of higher education within Europe. It was a direct result of the lack of widespread knowledge, education, and material media amongst commoner Europeans, who were not able to speak Latin, the language of the Church and scholars at the time. Although Gutenberg’s press is only known to have printed copies of the Bible in Latin, (ironically) a few copies of indulgences, and a German poem, it paved the way for the popularization of printing presses within Western Civilization over the upcoming centuries. I think “widespread” fits the Gutenberg course because the ideas, and history we have been learning about, were all brought about as a direct result of Gutenberg’s printing press, which made knowledge widespread. It could be argued that without the invention of the printing press in Western Civilization, history would not have been recorded so well, and it would have been as eventful as the Dark Ages in terms of progress.

Prequel

Well, it's November and Winter Term draws ever closer. I anxiously await the upcoming journey to Europe as Elon is starting to get a bit stifling. So much to do before Christmas!! It's imperative that I keep reminding myself that this semester is almost done. Work hard, play hard, and before you know it, January will roll around, assuming the world doesn't end in December as some people claim. I keep calm and chive on, can't wait for this exciting experience to arrive! -RGIV