THE USE AND ABUSE OF BERNARD SHAW ON THE INTERNET

Abstract

This paper aims to define the scope of Bernard Shaw’s notoriety today by commenting on the way his views have been discussed on the Internet, particularly on YouTube channel. The starting point for our discussion is the fact that videos featuring Shaw provide the public with merely a collage of his opinions, which should not be discussed, let alone judged, before being placed in their respective contexts. Since Shaw’s ‘worship’ of Hitler and Stalin as able men, as well as his approval of eugenics, have caused a great stir among the anonymous people who post their comments on YouTube, the paper focuses on Shaw’s views on war, the Jews, the racial question, capital punishment, history and responsibility, as written about in his plays, prefaces, and essays. Based on the works of prominent media theorists and critics such as Noam Chomsky and Neil Postman, and with emphasis on McLuhan’s claim that ‘medium is the message’, the paper determines the way in which the Internet media per se have shaped the content and meaning of Shaw’s writings and speeches.