1. Marshall McLuhan: Media ARE Communication
Becca McMullin

2. Background Born in Edmonton, Alberta , Canada July 21, 1911
Married Corinne Keller Lewis in 1939
Graduated from Cambridge University in 1942
Taught at many different Universities, including UW- Madison, St. Lewis University, and University of Toronto
Died in his sleep on December 31, 1980 at the age of 69

3. Books Wrote and published many books Understanding Media
The Medium is the Massage

4. The Medium is the Message
The medium through which a message is carried is just as important, it not more important than the message itself
The medium shapes and scales how humans will interact with each other
Basically, the channel through which a message is sent can contain more meaning than the message alone
The Medium is the Message

5. Light bulb!
Without the physical aspect of the light bulb, the light would have no form, and therefore, no meaning
The light itself is pure information
It is a message without a medium
It is the combination of both the message AND the medium that creates a full meaning

6. Types of Mediums
McLuhan claimed there were two different types of mediums: Hot and Cold
These are used in different ways and have different effects on the target audience

7. Hot Mediums
Mediums that make one single sense work in “high definition”
That is, they enhance one single sense in such a manner that a person does not need to exert much effort in filling in the details
Require little audience participation

8. Hot Mediums Radio Solely focuses on hearing
Enhances single sense so that it is working more than the other senses, but does not require too much energy or focus to do so

9. Hot Mediums Photograph Visually high definition
Provides great detail of image but does not take great effort to understand meaning

10. Cold Mediums Mediums in “low definition”
Require high audience participation
Participant must fill in missing information
Often try to illicit a specific response from the audience

11. Cold Mediums
Comics
Minimal detail in visual presentation means the participant must exert a high amount of effort to fill in details the artist may have intended to portray
Audience must actively work to determine secondary meaning

12. Cold Mediums Symbolism in Advertising
Nike’s “non-product specific message”
We all recognize the Nike Swoosh, but it takes conscious thought to relate the symbol to the name
This symbolism has become a recognizable norm
This message can be found in many different forms (television, magazine, etc.) so it requires a greater variety of audience participation

13. Global Village
McLuhan’s way of describing the effect of technology in bringing people into faster and more intimate contact with each other
Basically, technology would bring the world closer together quickly and easily
This would be easier to send out mass communications and broadcast codes
With everyone interconnected, we will all be affected by the same ideas, news and influences.
McLuhan used this term to describe the radio in the 1920’s but it can also be relevant in today’s society

14. Global Village Predication of the World Wide Web
McLuhan hypothesized that “borderless electronic media would undermine the nation- state,” meaning information could pass between people of different nations easily
McLuhan’s ideas about uniting the world through technology was eventually a reality with the invention of the internet

15. Global Village McLuhan also predicted the disadvantages of technology
He anticipated the “homogenizing and dehumanizing effect of mass media”
Understood how too much media and technology could be detrimental to our society