Exam 3 (Marshall McLuhan)

Question 1

What school did McLuhan found?

Answer 1

“Media Ecology”

Question 2

What are McLuhan’s major theories?

Answer 2

• Hot and cold media
• Technological determanism of cultures
• “The media is the message”

Question 3

Definition of socio-cultural?

Answer 3

Communication as the reproduction of social order

Question 4

Problems for Socio-Cultural?

Answer 4

Conflict, Alienation, Misalignment, failure of coordination.

Question 5

What does it mean, “The medium is the message”?

Answer 5

McLuhan argues that the medium had as many if not more effects as the content of the message.

Question 6

What are the different Technological cultures?

Answer 6

• Oral/Tribal - Experiences a balance of the senses and transmitted messages through word of mouth.
• Literature/PhonicAlphabet - Utilized the eye, and scrolls.
• Print/Gutenberg Society - Utilized the eye but created books and mass press.
• Electronic age/Rise of the global village - Replaced visual with auditory and touch and used telegraph/television, radio.
• Digital Age/Global Village - Contenues extending our central nervous systems age of computer.

Question 7

What is “Hot/Cold” Media?

Answer 7

Hot media - The senses in “high definition” requiring no actual participation to receive the message. (Movie, Radio, Newspapers)

Cool Media - Requires participation to get the message. (Telephone, Letters)

Question 8

What is McLuhan’s stance on meaning or “The Content” of the message?

Answer 8

The effects of our meditated environment have been largely ignored in favor of observing the content of the message.

Question 9

What is McLuhan’s definition of Media?

Answer 9

any technology whatever that creates extensions of the human body and senses, from clothing to the computer. (ex- Shoes are an extension of our feet/Words are extensions of our eyes/ Electronic media is an extension of our central nervous system.

Question 10

How does different mediums extend our senses and what does that do?

Answer 10

Experience a numbing of the senses being expanded in order to prevent awareness of the process

Question 11

Why does Mcluhan bieleve we need to pay more attention to our media

Answer 11

• He points out that we aren’t paying attention of the effects
• To highlight the long term effects of the media