This lecture will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the priority given to background media in three crucial twentieth century thinkers: Martin Heidegger, Marshall McLuhan, and Clement Greenberg. In Greenbergs case, there will be a discussion of his dismissive assessments of surrealism and dadaism, assessments that stem from his tacit agreement with Heidegger and McLuhan about the triviality of figure in comparison with its sustaining ground. By considering the limits of this shared approach, we will gain a sense of how one might push Heidegger, McLuhan, and Greenberg further.