Marshal Mcluhan Essay

What he means with the phrase â€Å"the medium is the message† is simply that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, because the medium influences how the message is perceived and creates a symbiotic relationship between the two.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mass media†media itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself. McLuhan believed that print media was the greatest influence in society. It took us from a primarily oral society, where the only means of spreading news or information was through verbal interaction with another person. When print media came about, this all changed. Suddenly information and news was printed, and all that needed to be done, was read. As print media heightened our visual senses, our verbal communication and interaction declined, leaving people far more private. This caused individualism to blossom, as social skills declined. With the introduction of the electronic age, we were acquainted with an audiovisual environment and given the opportunity to interpret the information in more than one way. With this, McLuhan then stated that different medium provoke different levels of participation from the individuals who consume it. He coined these differences as Hot and Cool Media. According to McLuhan, technology is an extension of the body. It improves, and helps us perform at a better rate, and does what the body cannot do on its own, be it some means of transport that is an improvement on walking, or something as primitive as a shovel too help us dig. Every extension is based on one before, and is normally seen as an improvement on its predecessor. However, when technology is over-extended, and starts to tip the scale more in a negative favour, it is referred to as an amputation. McLuhan comprised a tetrad of questions that, when asked, helps decide if the technology is merely an extension or if it is in fact an amputation. Hot and Cool Media In Understanding the Media, McLuhan stated that different media encourage different levels of participation. If you look at a photograph for example, very little participation is needed from the viewer in order to complete the photographer’s point of view or message. Because we single out one sense, and stimulate it above all the other, we would refer to this as â€Å"HOT† Media. In contrast to this, McLuhan used the example of a Comic, which gives us very little information, and encourages the reader’s participation to fill out the blanks in order to actually fully understand and enjoy the content. This is known as â€Å"COOL† Media Because Hot Media does not encourage as much participation, McLuhan states that more could be learned from Cool Media. He used the difference between a Lecture and a Seminar as another example. Seminars and Workshops normally encourage participation from its attendees, where a lecture is simple based on a classroom environment where there is a â€Å"teacher† and â€Å"students†. According to McLuhan, we are leading more and more into a society dominated by â€Å"HOT† media because the extensions of technology are becoming more independent of human operation and interaction. Many of these extensions aid in our everyday life in order to make it easier for us. However, are we at the point where technology almost does not ‘need’ US anymore? This is where McLuhan’s Tetrad comes into play. Many of our day-to-day activities have now been replaced with virtual and interactive counterparts. Shopping, for example, has now become as simple as going online and selecting what you need from a list, and the company delivers your purchases to your front door. We are now able to go on virtual tours through existing buildings as well as those that are yet to be built. The most common and accessible of these interactive replacements is the Nintendo Wii. The Wii is a gaming console that has reached the point where is has wireless operation and reacts to and with human motion. Its games range from common play station gaming like world of warcrafts and tactical gaming, to fitness and sport orientated games and programs with which you can play virtual matches or have simple workouts. Marshall’s Tetrad If you take something like the Wii gaming console, you can explain what he means by this in far simpler way. The questions are: What does the Technology extend? The Wii is developed on the same principle as of an Xbox and other gaming consoles. A form of interactive media that has extended to the point where it now has virtual exercise and sporting games you can play in your living room. With means of a wireless â€Å"power plate† and hand held cordless remote, Nintendo has virtually compiled almost every sport or physical activity one can do. So what does it extend? The Wii and its programs have been developed to stimulate its users physically and mentally, therefore it extends the entire body. Nintendo also have Learning games, which can help improve your memory, general knowledge and other literacy skills. What does it make obsolete? Instead of doing physical sport outside or in a more social environment like a gym, people can now exercise in the comfort of their own home. And for those that didn’t do sports or any general form of exercise due to embarrassment, inconvenience of any other reason now have the opportunity to get active. It has also changed video gaming in a huge way. Players now actually needs to physically get involved in the game when playing, and the cordless remote makes movement easier and gives the player more freedom. With the educational games, Wii has made learning easier, and more entertaining. By making it rewarding, people are more eager to actually know the information and get the answers right. They start asking questions like what they would get if they actually have the right answer, which misses the whole point of purely being educated. What is retrieved that use to be obsolete? The Wii encourages fitness, interaction and participation. With the digital era, fewer people are as active as they use to be a few years prior. We depend more on technology than ever, and seem to do fewer and fewer things for ourselves. Games like the Wii fit encourages physical activities for some that would not normally do it out of their own, by rewarding them for what they do. The educational and general knowledge games challenge people mentally, which general society doesn’t do as frequently as it use to, due to the fact that technology does most of our work for us. What does the medium reverse into when over-extended? This gaming console encourages more interaction than most. The most logical progression would be virtual interactive gaming, where player â€Å"step into a world† in which they play. They will be entirely involved in the dynamics and progression of the game. It will create a hyperreality that mimics a â€Å"real word†. The educational system could also lapse over into a media based development, where children learn via virtual tutors. Only problem is that they are constantly stimulated and entertained, and in the end, this could simply lead to shorter concentration spans rather than just more accessible knowledge. Conclusion Therefore, if one looks at the Wii, many will argue that it is a step forward in technology and that it is needed to keep up with our ever-changing world. It teaches us skills that are needed in everyday life, as everyday life is becoming more and more technologically dependant, and that this is our future in its simplest form. Others might argue that we are become less and less self-efficient and more and more dependable on the technology around us. We cannot function without computers and cellular phones anymore, and because of this, we have become more vulnerable without even realizing it. Technology has become such a great extension in our lives, that is has actually become our lives and our reality.