Kubrick, having read and understood McLuhan, realized that when watching the same film, "literate" man and "non literate" man have access to information the other does not.
"Literate man" has been programmed to see film in a specific way.
"Non literate" man has not been programmed to see film in a specific way.
This begs the question: does this programming effect the way in which "literate" man "sees" reality? If so, what information is "literate" man no longer able to see?
Let's return to the story and of the violinist in the subway. Is this proof that the programming of "literate" man has altered his sense ratios in such a profound way that the violinist in the subway was as invisible to them as the chicken was to the filmmakers? Did they not stop to listen not because they were in a hurry, but because they simply did not know that the violinist was even there?
McLuhan and Kubrick recognized that the programmed man was living deep in a Gutenberg Galaxy, and the un-programmed man was still living on planet Earth. The goal of modern man is not to maintain residence solely in one domain, but to be able to travel freely between both.
Chess involves a certain type of literacy, in which the player must be able to read and interpret as much information as possible. Information, in chess, is power. Seeing the game from multiple perspectives gives us more information, and a good player sees the game from the perspective of both sides of the board, as well as aggressive and conservative. Chess is also a game that is as much about technicality as it is about psychology, and moves are made that occur outside the realm of the board itself, moves that are within the rules, but subject to integrity and etiquette. They are just as important to the language of chess as the moves of the pieces. An extremely literate player, the programmed player, is aware of all of these sources of information.
But, does the truly un-programmed player still have access to information that is invisible to the programmed players? Is there a source of information that is only available to the person who has never played the game of chess?
McLuhan and Kubrick would say that there is a source of information within a game of chess that is only observable to the un-programmed, and the programmed player who can access this information becomes a more powerful player. So how does a programmed player learn to see something that has become invisible to them by virtue of their programming?
A player must deprogram, or to put it more poetically, a player must be born again. How does someone go about deprogramming?
How can someone be born again?
We now have three people in this game of chicken:
1. Un-Programmed Person
2. Programmed Man
3. Deprogrammed Person
A fourth Person will arrive at some point, but let's just focus on this power trio for now.
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