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A Man and His Tool:
Perception of Reality
“All I need is a nice, fat recording.” Harry Caul said as a reference to capturing a quality recording with his tape recorder; but when is the technological line crossed? Is it when we refer to ourselves as machine or is it rather when we allow a human controlled machine to determine nearly every aspect of our lives? Regardless of a personal opinion, in the film, The Conversation it is apparent that Harry Caul crossed this unknown boundary. Technology is excellent until you no longer control the machine, but instead let the machine control you. Harry Caul is a perfect representation of the majority of today’s society in the attempt to find the appropriate use for modern technology.
Harry Caul lives a life that is completely determined by his connection with technology. The concept that Marshall McLuhan introduced in his “Understanding Media” article is that there lies a blurry line between what we consider reality according to its representation by technology and what this reality potentially could be. This concept is strongly exemplified by Harry’s use of the high-tech voice surveillance equipment (13). When the equipment that he used was meant to enhance and decode reality, it actually became his actual reality. According to McLuhan, reality is something that can be experienced through the body (8-9). In Harry Caul’s case, the reality he thought he felt could only be discovered through the surveillance gear while he was spying at work. Based on Mcluhan’s article, Caul’s feelings were really an alternate state of virtual reality. Although the observation equipment did not contain any content itself, the equipment is a medium that has a social effect because it allows Harry to listen to conversations, which he normally would not be involved in. This is where Harry’s deception of reality began.
Harry Caul’s ability to eavesdrop on other individuals caused paranoia in him that someone could...