The Tribal Age: An Acoustic Place in History

The Tribal Age: An Acoustic Place in History

 

In this age, the senses of hearing, touch, taste and smell were far more strongly developed than the ability to visualize. It encourages high involvement, passion, and spontaneity in interactions.

According to McLuhan, the tribal village was an acoustic place where the senses of hearing, touch, and smell were developed far beyond the ability to visualize. In untamed settings, hearing is more valuable than seeing because it allows you to be more immediately aware of your surroundings. With sight, we are limited to direction and distance. We can only sense what is clearly in front of us.

Communication is most likely to be difficult because this is nothing but mouth and gestures. Somehow, communication in Tribal Era was more meaningful just like when our ancestors tell stories and pass it to the different generation of the family.  Listening to someone speak in the group is a unifying act. Everyone hears at the same time and everyone can enjoy it at the same time.

Spoken words or ideas are only alive when uttered and we can deeply feel the thoughts when we hear it. We can understand things when we hear it. Hearing gives us freedom of interpretation and perception.

McLuhan claimed that “primitive” people led richer and more complex lives than their literate descendants because the ear, unlike the eye, encourages a more holistic sense of the world. There is a deeper feeling of community and greater awareness of the surrounding existence. The acoustic environment also fosters more passion and spontaneity. In that world of surround sound, everything is more immediate, more present, and more actual.

To know more about Tribal Age here's the clip made by Chard Ampo (Jan 8,2017)