The medium is the message

As I was doing my nightly bedtime pondering last night, I realized that one medium, which has been in use since ancient times, seems to have been neglected by discussions on media: fireworks. Don’t forget that fireworks were also used in China as a means of communication in war. In the last couple of years, the government has unwittingly (at least I haven’t paid much attention to it until now) been inserting more and more conspicuous messages into the city’s fireworks displays. The following images are from Hong Kong’s 2008 Chinese New Year Olympic-themed fireworks display.

Not only did we invent fireworks, but we have also apparently pioneered the insertion of ideology (nationalism) into such displays.

Fireworks, I just realized, could be a potentially effective way to get across messages because of their attractiveness and the lasting impression they make with each explosion, the messages literally bursting out before people’s eyes. However, it might not be enough merely to observe the salient messages as above, but also the potential latent messages, communicated through various ways such as the frequencies, the intervals, the colors, the shapes, even the music played on TVB. Perhaps this is where Lazarsfeld might be useful. So come July, besides appreciating the fireworks as they are, let’s try and see how and what messages are being conveyed during the entire display.