Saturday, September 4, 2010

The Medium Is The Message

This was such a hard read for me to follow. I read the first page over and over again trying to understand. Although it was hard for me to follow with all of the varying examples, I think I now understand what he means by “the medium is the message”.

The basic idea that I pulled from the article (and after reading everyone’s responses!) was that the message varies based on what medium is used. Once I understood this I was able to follow his essay a lot more clearly and understand he examples when jumping from light bulbs to Shakespeare to airplanes and burglars. Blogger Goldie really helped me understand what he meant with her example about celebrities selling perfume. I mean, if an acne stricken teen is selling acne medication the message we’re going to pull is that the acne medicine clearly doesn’t work. But if a blemish free model is selling it, we’re going to be influenced into thinking it does work because of his or her flawless skin. After reading other interpretations of ‘the medium is the message’ I was definitely able to understand what he meant, especially with the example about the light bulb. It gave me something to think about and once the message of the article was described through other mediums, I got a clearer picture.

2 comments:

  1. I had similar problems as well when I read the article. He seems to be very long-winded and scientific, or at least, way too complicated in his explanations. But yes, I gathered the same things you did, only, I think he is pointing more towards the medium itself. For instance, he is distinguishing between radio and television, not different types of television commercials. Although you do make a great point that quality and content have a lot to say for the message as well. If you see a poorly produced infomercial or even just a regular commercial, you are probably less likely to buy the product. But if they spend a lot of time making the commercial more appealing, the product then, in turn, is more appealing.
    While I was writing this comment I thought of the Blair Witch Project. When the first movie came out they utilized the Internet and what would become known as viral marketing campaigns to build hype for the movie. In that case, the medium – fake news stories about missing teenagers and recovered tapes – was the message, and it worked.

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  2. Thanks for the response, WhereIsMyWaiter! I really appreciate you helping me to understand the reading a little better! I was only 10 when The Blair Witch Project came out so I don't remember any of that but that's scary! Fake news stories!?? Ahh!! I'd totally fall for it!

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