Abstract

In this essay, the foundation is laid out for the basis of a media theory declaration that is an alternative view of Marshall McLuhan's mantra that the medium is the message. In the first part of this essay the alternative theory is stated, and holds that the medium is not necessarily the message, but that the medium is a message-concept transportation entity. The second part of the essay contains the application of the theory, focusing on the process and the invention of the typewriter viewed through the critical lens of Freidrich Kittler, and the literary work of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs to project the applications of the theory stated in part one. The essay utilizes Freidrich Kittler's three-part model of media in perception, including Gramophone, Film, and Typewriter, resulting in a series of more complete and comprehensive musings on the axis of association that can be drawn between medium, message, and author in this respect.