--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything that's popular is a rear-view…" description: "\"Anything that's popular is a rear-view image.\" — Marshall McLuhan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png" --- # Anything that's popular is a rear-view image. ![“Anything that's popular is a rear-view image.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png) > “Anything that's popular is a rear-view image.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Popularity reflects past trends, not future direction; it mirrors what has already happened. **In simple terms:** Popular things look backward. Key Takeaway Question current trends critically. Themes media culture trendanalysis Mood critical analytical Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - fashion - technology adoption Key Concepts sociology future studies Questions to Reflect On - What does a rear-view image hide? - How can we look forward beyond popularity? A Different Perspective Popularity can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Popular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular/) [Popular Rear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-rear-5864608/) [Rear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rear/) [Rear view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rear-view/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [You can't move forward because you've got your eyes in the rear view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-move-forward-because-you-ve-got-your-eyes-in-the-rear-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't really look back and see what is in the rear-view mirror. This is not how you are going to move forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/we-can-t-really-look-back-and-see-what-is-in-the-rear-view-mirror/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [Once you've made the decision to move on, don't move back. You will never find your future in the rear view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-ve-made-the-decision-to-move-on-don-t-move-back-you-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't have a rear-view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/i-don-t-have-a-rear-view-mirror/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [There's no need to front when you're already in my rear view. Just stay hell back that way so I can continue to roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-herron/there-s-no-need-to-front-when-you-re-already-in-my-rear-view-just/) [Chris Herron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-herron/) > [You can't change t he wor ld f rom t he rear view mir ror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/you-can-t-change-t-he-wor-ld-f-rom-t-he-rear-view-mir-ror/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [The new is always made up of the old, or rather, what people see in the new is always the old thing. The rear-view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-is-always-made-up-of-the-old-or-rather-what-people-see-in-the/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The past went that-a-way. When faced with a totally new situation, we tend always to attach ourselves to the objects, to the flavor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-past-went-that-a-way-when-faced-with-a-totally-new-situation-we/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/we-look-at-the-present-through-a-rear-view-mirror-we-march-backwards/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [There's a popular image of people who don't save for the future as lacking in self-control. But the reason saving is so hard has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/there-s-a-popular-image-of-people-who-don-t-save-for-the-future-as/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Mounting a large rock, I was able to see a considerable body of the enemy moving by the flank in rear of their line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-chamberlain/mounting-a-large-rock-i-was-able-to-see-a-considerable-body-of-the/) [Joshua Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-chamberlain/) > [The Tea Party is a rear guard, not a vanguard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-schumer/the-tea-party-is-a-rear-guard-not-a-vanguard/) [Chuck Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-schumer/) > [I think people need to commit to one another before they commit to bringing children into the world because that's the optimum arrangement for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-ward-sears/i-think-people-need-to-commit-to-one-another-before-they-commit-to/) [Leah Ward Sears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-ward-sears/) > [When you are getting kicked from the rear it means you are in front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/when-you-are-getting-kicked-from-the-rear-it-means-you-are-in-front/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [We only call at ducks when their rear ends are towards us. If I'm looking at you and you call my name, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jase-robertson/we-only-call-at-ducks-when-their-rear-ends-are-towards-us-if-i-m/) [Jase Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jase-robertson/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Image quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [An image has stuck for most of my career and it isn't flattering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-fowler/an-image-has-stuck-for-most-of-my-career-and-it-isn-t-flattering/) [Robbie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-fowler/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [You can do nothing that is in conflict with your own image of what you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-fleet/you-can-do-nothing-that-is-in-conflict-with-your-own-image-of-what/) [James Van Fleet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-fleet/) > [What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you only go once. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/what-happens-is-this-sort-of-bleed-over-from-the-tabloids-across-your/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I can't say it was challenging for me to shake the image of Frasier. I've been fortunate to have had a very interesting career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-grammer/i-can-t-say-it-was-challenging-for-me-to-shake-the-image-of-frasier-i/) [Kelsey Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-grammer/) > [I don't know where this glamorous image and all came from. I don't find myself glamorous or bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riya-sen/i-don-t-know-where-this-glamorous-image-and-all-came-from-i-don-t/) [Riya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riya-sen/) > [God's image…is found not best in individual humans, but in humans as they relate to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-timothy-johnson/god-s-image-is-found-not-best-in-individual-humans-but-in-humans-as/) [Luke Timothy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-timothy-johnson/) > [I think some people think I'm, like, anti-label, and I'm not. I just wanted to sign a deal when the time was right. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-azalea/i-think-some-people-think-i-m-like-anti-label-and-i-m-not-i-just/) [Iggy Azalea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-azalea/) > [I haven't talked to any young artists for a long time. But if we did sit down, I'd definitely tell them my viewpoint. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-haven-t-talked-to-any-young-artists-for-a-long-time-but-if-we-did/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [There's a very long tail of all sorts of creative products - beyond our core web search, image search and advertising businesses - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ng/there-s-a-very-long-tail-of-all-sorts-of-creative-products-beyond-our/) [Andrew Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ng/) > [The image of a pregnant woman embracing her figure and really putting it out there can be scary to some people, but I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-helen-bowers/the-image-of-a-pregnant-woman-embracing-her-figure-and-really-putting/) [Mary Helen Bowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-helen-bowers/) > [A lot of people ask: 'Will you play a psycho to really change your image and prove you can act?' But that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-lot-of-people-ask-will-you-play-a-psycho-to-really-change-your/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) [Browse all 1,402 Image quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anything that's popular is a rear-view image.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-image/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Image" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-image/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/marshall-mcluhan-641_image_anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-i_3187241.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anything that's popular is a rear-view image.” — Marshall McLuhan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anything that's popular is a rear-view...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-image/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/anything-that-s-popular-is-a-rear-view-image/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```