Tuesday, July 20, 2010
“Medium is the Message”
I agree with Marshall McLuhan that “the channel through which a message is transmitted is as important as the message itself and that the channel determines which message will be transmitted and which will be ignored,” (pg307). Today we have access to many different channels such as newspapers, radio, television and internet, so we need to choose the right one to send our messages. For example, an ad for a new chocolate bar would be noticed more in a newspaper or TV commercial than if announced on the radio. We also need to consider what age group is being targeted for the message and send it through the appropriate channel so we may reach them. McLuhan emphasizes that the medium influences how the message is perceived. His idea that television is a “cool medium,” means that the viewer has to put more effort to understand what they are watching. This is because the viewer is bombarded with information, which the viewer takes in sensorily and then has to sort them for meaning, decide which ones to pay attention to and fill in missing details to understand. The viewer has to judge whether what they are watching is the truth or fiction, since some messages are made to look so real!!!
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I find that these types of things are common sense and we realize that they are happening but it is interesting to get more in depth about it. It completely makes sense that there are certain types of media that are meant for or more appropriate for certain types of messages; the chocolate bar is a good example of that. In my post I used an example of promoting a concert and how that would most likely be done over the radio or through printed media verses the television. I also find the concept of “cool” media interesting. The fact that it takes more or less effort to understand messages from different kinds of media is pretty cool =]
ReplyDeleteEleanor,
ReplyDeleteI thought the chocolate bar example was one we could all relate to. Promoting a concert is an excellent example too. I too think these ideas are common sense, but the book makes us think deeper in a way!!!