In BCM112 this week, we unpacked the idea of the medium being the message. Before this lecture I always had the opinion that the medium had little value in the portrayal of the message and was more of a channel for the message. This assumption was completely flipped however when Marshall McLuhan‘s the medium is the message came to my attention.
Laswell’s communication model is a key diagram in understanding how a message is communicated. The medium, derived from latin word “medius” meaning middle is part of this model as a channel for the message to travel through (Mitew 2021). McLuhan pulled the medium out of this chain and suggested that it was actually of a lot more worth.
Understanding McLuhan’s ideas can be solved by asking a few simple questions:
What is more impacting, a Youtube video or that there is a Youtube platform to share videos on?
Or
Is being able to read a text message more valuable than having access to your phone?
The point of these questions is to show the importance of the medium as it is.
McLuhan recognised that the way that a message is received is just as important at the message itself. He saw how people began to change as new technologies arose like TV and radio. He predicted that eventually these new technologies would unite each other and create a “gobal village” much like the internet we use today.
References:
- Mitew, T 2021, ‘The messages of media’, online lecture, BCM112, University of Wollongong, viewed 9 March 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=160&v=woXANjlBhpY&ab_channel=TeodorMitew>>
- BBC Radio 4 2015, ‘The Medium is the Message’, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko6J9v1C9zE&t=1s&ab_channel=BBCRadio4>
- McLuhan, M 1964, ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man’, <https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/pluginfile.php/2703698/mod_resource/content/0/McLuhan%20-%20The%20medium%20is%20the%20message.pdf>
- Open Culture, ‘Marshall McLuhan Explains Why We’re Blind to How Technology Changes Us, Raising the Question: What Have the Internet & Social Media Done to Us?’, <https://www.openculture.com/2017/08/marshall-mcluhan-explains-why-were-blind-to-how-technology-changes-us.html>
sophie-brown.com 
Hey Girl! We took a very similar approach to this weeks blog post which is awesome! We both put a focus on McCluhan’s idea of the medium is the message, referencing Lasswell’s communication model. I elaborated on how that communication model represented how the media infiltrated audiences when McLuhan’s ideas were first discussed. Whereas now, as consumers of media, we are much more represented in the Shannon-Weaver model as we can offer feedback to media and be our own producers! For my remediation, I focussed on similar questions you asked within your blog post and turned them into GIFs, whereas you focussed on this in the body of your blog. Your remediation was a great representation of how I felt when this concept was first introduced to me, making it a great, relatable meme. We both interpreted this week’s material in a very similar way. I look forward to continuing to read and interact with your content!
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Thanks so much for your comment Kira!
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Awesome use of memes to depict what is such a confusing concept! I like the angle you took to consider the meaning of Luhan’s theories. I look forward to reading more of your content 🙂
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Thanks so much for the feedback!
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