{"id":264,"date":"2021-03-30T16:44:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T16:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-englishcomp2\/?post_type=chapter&p=264"},"modified":"2022-07-25T19:31:08","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T19:31:08","slug":"is-the-medium-the-message","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-englishcomp2\/chapter\/is-the-medium-the-message\/","title":{"raw":"Is the Medium the Message?","rendered":"Is the Medium the Message?"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\nDistinguish between the ways different media communicate\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

The Medium and the Message<\/h2>\r\nIn 1964, Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase \u201cthe medium is the message.\u201d Medium, in this case, is the singular of a word we\u2019re used to seeing in the plural: media. What he meant was that we tend to focus on the content of the message (the words being said or the images shown), but we really need to look at the medium, or the means by which the information is communicated<\/strong>. According to this line of thinking, the television is more important for the way it makes us see the world than for any given program it might carry.\r\n
Medium\u00a0<\/strong>(plural media<\/strong> or mediums<\/strong>)\r\n<\/strong>A format for communicating or presenting information.\r\nA means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on. (source<\/a>)<\/blockquote>\r\nIn the introduction to her book\u00a0The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over New Media<\/em>, Iliana Gershon discusses what she calls \u201cmedia ideologies\u201d\u2014a concept which is essentially a more modern reframing of McLuhan\u2019s idea of the medium and the message:\r\n

People\u2019s ideas about the medium shape the ways that medium will deliver a message. No matter what is actually said, the medium becomes part of what is being communicated. Sometimes the medium is in synch with the message, and sometimes it is so out of synch with the message that the message is undercut. . . .\u00a0That is to say, what people think about the media they use will shape the way they use media. (Gershon 3)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2792\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]\"Screenshot Is it acceptable to break up with someone via text? Why or why not? If not, is there something about the text medium<\/strong> that makes it unacceptable for this kind of communication? Or if so, what would be the advantages of breaking up with someone by text?[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAs Gershon discovered, one of the quickest ways to reveal our often invisible media ideologies is to ask the question, \u201cis it acceptable to break up with someone via text message?\u201d\r\n\r\nBoth McLuhan and Gershon alert us to the fact that the means by which a message is communicated can be as important as the content of the message itself. What this means for critical reading is that, when interpreting a message, we need to consider how that message got to us and which interpretive frameworks we're using to understand it. A video on the web can be as informative as an article in a print book, but we should make note of the fact that we're taking in the information through images and audio rather than text. Consider, for instance, a topic like the logistics of the massive Za\u2019atari refugee camp in Jordan. While a journal article and an online video might convey similar facts and information about the camp, the experience of seeing and hearing stories from the camp would probably leave a very different impression than reading alone.\r\n

Analyzing Different Media<\/h2>\r\nEspecially when your goal is to analyze and understand a particular work, it's essential to consider the specific qualities of its medium (or media). If we think that a scene in a movie is sad, for example, we are probably getting that impression through medium-specific cues such as melancholy music on the soundtrack, muted colors, or close-up shots of sad faces. The same scene in a novel would have to communicate sadness in a different way\u2014through word choice or symbolism, for instance. Depending on the kind of analysis you're doing, this aspect may be more or less important. A research paper built largely on journal articles won't need to consider medium very much, but an analysis of a photograph needs to keep in mind the particular way a photograph communicates. When working with different media sources, it's important to ask yourself the question: \"how do I know what I think I know about this?\" Don't forget to consider the medium alongside the message!\r\n
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Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/61d55f38-4cd8-44cc-b24a-9a3861611d8d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"314690\"]Works Cited[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"314690\"]\r\n\r\nGershon,\u00a0Ilana.\u00a0The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting Over New Media.\u00a0United States,\u00a0Cornell University Press,\u00a02010.\r\n\r\nMcLuhan,\u00a0Marshall.\u00a0Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man<\/em>. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,\u00a02016.\r\n\r\n[\/hidden-answer]","rendered":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n

Distinguish between the ways different media communicate<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Medium and the Message<\/h2>\n

In 1964, Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase \u201cthe medium is the message.\u201d Medium, in this case, is the singular of a word we\u2019re used to seeing in the plural: media. What he meant was that we tend to focus on the content of the message (the words being said or the images shown), but we really need to look at the medium, or the means by which the information is communicated<\/strong>. According to this line of thinking, the television is more important for the way it makes us see the world than for any given program it might carry.<\/p>\n

Medium\u00a0<\/strong>(plural media<\/strong> or mediums<\/strong>)
\n<\/strong>A format for communicating or presenting information.
\nA means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on. (source<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the introduction to her book\u00a0The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over New Media<\/em>, Iliana Gershon discusses what she calls \u201cmedia ideologies\u201d\u2014a concept which is essentially a more modern reframing of McLuhan\u2019s idea of the medium and the message:<\/p>\n

People\u2019s ideas about the medium shape the ways that medium will deliver a message. No matter what is actually said, the medium becomes part of what is being communicated. Sometimes the medium is in synch with the message, and sometimes it is so out of synch with the message that the message is undercut. . . .\u00a0That is to say, what people think about the media they use will shape the way they use media. (Gershon 3)<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Is it acceptable to break up with someone via text? Why or why not? If not, is there something about the text medium<\/strong> that makes it unacceptable for this kind of communication? Or if so, what would be the advantages of breaking up with someone by text?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As Gershon discovered, one of the quickest ways to reveal our often invisible media ideologies is to ask the question, \u201cis it acceptable to break up with someone via text message?\u201d<\/p>\n

Both McLuhan and Gershon alert us to the fact that the means by which a message is communicated can be as important as the content of the message itself. What this means for critical reading is that, when interpreting a message, we need to consider how that message got to us and which interpretive frameworks we’re using to understand it. A video on the web can be as informative as an article in a print book, but we should make note of the fact that we’re taking in the information through images and audio rather than text. Consider, for instance, a topic like the logistics of the massive Za\u2019atari refugee camp in Jordan. While a journal article and an online video might convey similar facts and information about the camp, the experience of seeing and hearing stories from the camp would probably leave a very different impression than reading alone.<\/p>\n

Analyzing Different Media<\/h2>\n

Especially when your goal is to analyze and understand a particular work, it’s essential to consider the specific qualities of its medium (or media). If we think that a scene in a movie is sad, for example, we are probably getting that impression through medium-specific cues such as melancholy music on the soundtrack, muted colors, or close-up shots of sad faces. The same scene in a novel would have to communicate sadness in a different way\u2014through word choice or symbolism, for instance. Depending on the kind of analysis you’re doing, this aspect may be more or less important. A research paper built largely on journal articles won’t need to consider medium very much, but an analysis of a photograph needs to keep in mind the particular way a photograph communicates. When working with different media sources, it’s important to ask yourself the question: “how do I know what I think I know about this?” Don’t forget to consider the medium alongside the message!<\/p>\n

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Try It<\/h3>\n

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