· Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.
I agree somewhat with Marshall McLauhan that medium is the message because there are different messages sent with different mediums. Take for instance the radio, it could be music, news reports, or interviews and all of these messages affect the way we experience the world.
However, McLauhan states that print media transmit information in an orderly sequence; I disagree with this notion because print media is not all orderly. Take for instance magazines that bombard you with many different ads on a single page, added with vivid colors, and eye popping photos; how can this be idea after idea, or orderly?.
In addition, I disagree when McLuhan states that print media encourage rationality and individuality. How could that be possible when all media have ulterior motives and have already decided what they want us to think, feel, and act like? In media culture, in is hard to think rationally and distinguish between fiction and reality. When a person repeatedly sees in print media a certain body image, car they should drive, or clothes that are popular, they will feel pressure to follow the message. Some don’t, but the majority of people do!
I find McLuhan’s idea that television is a cool medium very interesting because it does leave a lot for the viewer to fill in as they see fit. Television leaves much to our imaginations and therefore much room for filling in the gaps. Television as a cool medium can be compared to a cartoon that also leaves much room for interpretation. Both television and cartoons do leave a lot of room for different interpretations and encoding.
Have a great weekend:)
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2 comments:
I agree that different media carry alterior motives. Magazines have transformed print media as well in that they transformed the traditional newspaper print form of medium into a sensory jungle similar to television. We must strain our minds to make better sense and decript the messages we are observing. The print may say one thing as the picture associated with the print may give an altogether conflicting and different message. We all tend to relate to different messages in different ways. Usually this is a reflection of how we perceive ourselves and how we assume the writer views people similar to us.
would you say the media are alive? As far as print McLuhan went to a lot of effort to break down print into its' different flavors.
The daily newspaper he called a mosaic. So you and he are in agreement!
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