A CHRONOTOPIC ANALYSIS of MARSHALL Mcluhan's "GLOBAL VILLAGE" and PATRICK Mcgoohan's the PRISONER
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"THE WHOLE EARTH AS VILLAGE": A CHRONOTOPIC ANALYSIS OF MARSHALL McLUHAN'S "GLOBAL VILLAGE" AND PATRICK McGOOHAN'S THE PRISONER Nicole Maggio Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Interdisciplinary MA in Popular Culture Faculty of Social Sciences, Brock University St. Catharines, Ontario © October, 2008 11 Dedicated to Patrick McGoohan (March 19, 1928 - January 13,2009) iii ABSTRACT: Marshall McLuhan's "global village", and his theories on communications and technology, in conjunction with Patrick McGoohan's television series The Prisoner (ATV, 1967-1968) are explored in this thesis. The Prisoner, brainchild of McGoohan, is about the abduction and confinement of a British government agent imprisoned within the impenetrable boundaries of a benign but totalitarian city -state called "The Village". The purpose of his abduction and imprisonment is for the extraction of information regarding his resignation as a government spy. Marshall McLuhan originally popularized the phrase "the global village" in The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making o/the Topographic Man (1962), asserting that, "The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village" (p. 31). This thesis argues that valid parallels exist between McGoohan's conception of "village", as manifested in The Prisoner, and McLuhan's global village. The comprehensive methodological stratagem for this thesis includes Marshall McLuhan's "mosaic" approach, Mikhail Bakhtin's concept ofthe "chronotope", as well as a Foucauldian genealogicallhistorical discourse analysis. In the process of deconstructing McLuhan's texts and The Prisoner as products of the 1960s, an historical "constellation" (to use Walter Benjamin's concept) of the same present has been executed. By employing this synthesized methodology, conjunctions have been made between McLuhan's theories and the series' main themes of bureaucracy as dictatorship, the perversion of science and technology, freedom as illusion, and the individual in opposition to the collective. A thorough investigation of the global village and The Prisoner will determine whether or not Marshall McLuhan and/or Patrick McGoohan visualize the village as an enslaving technological reality. iv PREFACE: I would like to preface my Masters Thesis, "The Whole Earth as Village": A Chronotopic Analysis of Marshall McLuhan's Global Village and Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner, by stating that there were absolutely no discernable epiphanies central to the choice of my thesis topic. Here's how it came about. On occasion, I enj oy delving into the biographies of great men and women. While searching the musty stacks of a disheveled used bookstore in downtown Peterborough, I happened across an obscure psychological treatise on the great jazz innovator Miles Davis. I found this tiny little book, now long lost, to be frightening, informative and highly engaging, all at the same time. I had discovered my muse! From what I remember of the biography, Miles openly acknowledged McLuhan, McGoohan, and their works as inspiration. Initially, my thesis was to be "Miles, McLuhan and McGoohan: The Iconoclast as Radical Contemporary Artist", or some such thing. There seemed a certain syntactical symmetry residing in their very names ... so I went with that. I soon eliminated Miles for reasons other than his intelligence or ability ... I just couldn't get an unvarnished handle on the man. At the time, however, I regarded both McLuhan and McGoohan to be lesser lights than Miles and much less complicated as well ... boy, was I wrong! Anyway, one of these men was a Canadian, academic maverick, devout Catholic, and social conservative. The other, a thespian: cantankerous, a perfectionist, abrupt in manner, and a bit of a misanthrope. But I liked what I saw, and enjoyed what I read. It wasn't long before my preliminary research indicated a meaningful common denominator relevant to Thesis scrutiny. The concept of VILLAGE permeated the creative sensibilities of both McLuhan and McGoohan. It is my hope in this Thesis to probe with intent, as those two men did so fantastically well. Therein, lies the genesis of my Thesis topic. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Two men hold equal and seminal influence in my academic career: Trent Professor Sean Kane, a quirky, brilliant, engaging academic and fine author who guided me well as a young, impressionable student; and Brock Professor Jim Leach, an intellectually layered man of utmost integrity and infinite patience. I thank you both. Without the excellent tutelage of Trent Professors Andrew Wernick and Alan O'Connor, my academic journey would have ended before it had ever begun. Thank- you. My time at Brock would have been much less special without the guidance of a fantastic Professor, Nick Baxter-Moore, a man I admire greatly, and Professor Jeannette Sloniowski who I had the very greatest honour to work for. Finally, a special mention to Wilfred Laurier Professor Paul Heyer and Brock Professor Sherryl Vint who both were entertained by my Thesis and an integral part of my examination defence committee on October 6th 2008. I thank you all. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS: CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1 Marshall McLuhan and "The Global Village" ................................... 2 Patrick McGoohan and The Prisoner ..................................................... 8 Methodology ................................................................................ 21 CHAPTER TWO: MARSHALL McLUHAN'S "GLOBAL VILLAGE" ................ 30 Influences ................................................................................ 30 Origins of the Global Village ............................................................. 32 Positive Effects of the Global Village ............................................ 41 Negative Effects of the Global Village ....................................................... 45 McLuhan's Response to the Global Village ....................................................... 55 Consciousness in the Electronic Age ................................................................... 57 Defining the Dropout ........................................................................................... 59 Defining the Artist ........................................................................................... 62 Critics and Criticisms of McLuhan's Global Village ........................................... 67 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER THREE: THE PRISONER'S VILLAGE ....................................................... 74 Narrative Structure ........................................................................................... 74 Allegory Debate ........................................................................................... 76 Utopia, Dystopia, or Anti-Utopia? ................................................................... 79 Bureaucracy as Dictatorship ............................................................................... 88 The Preservation of Science and Technology ....................................................... 90 Surveillance ........................................................................................... 90 Television ........................................................................................... 92 Technology ........................................................................................... 93 Freedom as Illusion ........................................................................................... 95 The Individual in Opposition to the Collective ........................................... 99 Pathos ................................................................................................................. 103 Fall Out ..................................................................................................... 104 Utopia, Dystopia, Anti-Utopia and the Real World ......................................... 108 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 110 CHAPTER FOUR: VILLAGE AS PROPHESY - MARSHALL McLUHAN'S GLOBAL VILLAGE AND THE PRISONER'S VILLAGE ......................................... 112 The Perversion of Science and Technology ..................................................... 113 Dehumanized and Disembodied ..................................................... 113 Television and Education ................................................................. 115 Advertising - A Mindless Force ..................................................... 122 Surveillance ......................................................................................... 124 Bureaucracy as Dictatorship ............................................................................. 127 Time and Space Reduced to Nothing ..................................................... 127 Political Framework ............................................................................. 129 vii Freedom as Illusion ......................................................................................... 131 Rear-View Mirrorism ............................................................................. 131 The TV Western ............................................................................. 132 The Individual in Opposition to the Collective ........................................ 135 "Fall Out" and the