Reading analysis by COMM321 summer 2019 students.

1. “The Medium is the
Message”
by Marshall McLuhan
Maria Acosta, Xochitl Contreras,
Destiny Lara Benzor, Ruth Marrero with minor corrections from the
Prof.

2. Concepts

3. Concept #1
Medium
The channel through
which a message is
transmitted is more
important than the
message itself.
Xochitl E. Contreras

5. Medium
Explanation
Marshall McLuhan asserts that our society fails to
recognize that mediums are “extensions of
ourselves” and any change in a medium will have
an effect on society (McLuhan, 1964, p. 107). He
uses automation as an example and describes
how changes in mechanized technology can have
positive and negative effects on society, arguing
that what one does with the machine is more
important than the actual machine. The same idea
can be applied to media; McLuhan believed we
should pay more attention to the impact a medium
has on society and how its impact can change the
world rather than the message the medium is
producing.
Xochitl E. Contreras

6. Xochitl E. Contreras

7. “The ‘content’ of a
medium is always
another medium”
(McLuhan, 1964, p. 107).
Concept #2
Content
Ruth Marrero

8. One could take a post on social
media as the content which in turn is
another medium for what the person
is trying to express. However, the
medium in which it is expressed be
it hashtag, blog post, or photo, is
another medium. One could have
the same basic content, but it would
carry different meanings depending
on what medium was used to
convey it and what platform
(medium) it was posted on.
Ruth Marrero
CONTENT
EXPLANATION

9. Etherealization is a concept
introduced by Arnold Toynbee.
According to Mcluhan, it is “the
principle of progressive
simplification and efficiency in
any organization or technology”
(McLuhan, 1964, p. 115).
Concept #3
Etherealization
Ruth Marrero

10. Etherealization
Explanation
Ruth Marrero
Etherealization simply says that
our opinion, or point of view,
shape the way in which we view
a message, and thus the
medium. What this theory does
not account for is that our point
of view can be affected by a
medium and distorts the
message in an individual’s eyes.

11. Quotes

12. Quote
#1
“For the ‘message’ of any
medium or technology is the
change of scale or pace or
pattern that it introduces into
human affairs” (McLuhan, 1964,
p. ).
Xochitl E. Contreras

13. Quote #1
Explanation
Xochitl E. Contreras
In this quote, McLuhan once again stresses the importance of
paying attention to the impact different mediums can have on
society by using the invention of the railroad system as a way to
illustrate the influence that new forms of technology had on
society at that time. Although transportation and movement
across land had been done for hundreds of years prior to the
introduction of the railroad, McLuhan states that the railroad
“accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human
functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of
work and leisure (McLuhan, 1964, p 108). In other words, it
wasn’t the use of the railroad system that changed society but
rather the effects that the invention brought with it. The same
concept can be applied to relatively new forms of media, such as
a smartphone. While the telephone and the ability to make phone
calls is almost 150 years old, the smartphone gives people the
ability to communicate at any given moment and allows them
access to a variety of resources and information. The ease at
which information can be accessed can then lead to societal
changes in attitudes or beliefs.

14. Xochitl E. Contreras

15. “In a culture like ours, long
accustomed to splitting and dividing
all things as a means of control, it is
sometimes a bit of a shock to be
reminded that, in operational and
practical fact, the medium is the
message”
(McLuhan, 1964, p.8).
Maria Acosta
Quote
#2

16. The quote states that we take information from a
hashtag, movie, news, etc. and we use that to
determine the meaning behind what we believe is
being told to us. As technology grows it changes
the way we communicate electronically (radio,
TV, computers, etc.). It reorganizes our brain,
giving us different aspects of how we see or
approach the world. The reading gives an
example stating, “Many people would be
disposed to say that it was not the machine, but
what one did with the machine, that was its
meaning or message.” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 108).
Quote #2
Explanation
Maria Acosta

17. Maria Acosta

18. “For each of the media is
also a powerful weapon
with which to clobber
other media and other
groups” (McLuhan, 1964,
p.116).
Maria Acosta
Quote
#3

19. In the quote it mentions how media itself is a type of
tool we use for news, and the way we send a
message. It allows us to create our own
interpretation and tell our side of a story in or event
using social media, television, creating blogs online
as well. In the reading it also states “this pervasive
fact creates the unique cultural flavor of any society.
It pays through the nose and all its other senses for
each staple that shapes its life” (McLuhan, p.116).
Communicating through media is growing, and
becoming more of a tool to reach out to other
people without actually contacting one individual. A
message is beyond words and it has grown into
other useful tools we can use.
Maria Acosta
Quote #3
Explanation

20. Maria Acosta

21. “Anybody will concede that society
whose economy is dependent upon
one or two major staples like
cotton, or grain, or lumber, or fish,
or cattle is going to have some
obvious social patterns of
organization as a result”
(McLuhan, 1964, p.116).
Quote
#4
Destiny Lara Benzor

22. This quote is saying people agree that societies rely
on major staples, and those major staples end up
becoming a social pattern. Technology in this case
has become a major staple in our society. Humans
rely on technology for entertainment, to
communicate, to research, and to pass by time.
Technology has created an “extreme instability in
[our] economy but great endurance in the population”
(McLuhan, p. 116). This is because people would
rather be watching tv, scrolling on the web, or
listening to music than to be socializing with the
people around them. Kids have even turned to
technology to play instead of interacting with other
kids in person. Technology will continue to evolve
and take over our society because it has become a
major need in people’s lives.
Quote #4
Explanation
Destiny Lara Benzor

23. Destiny Lara Benzor

24. Artifact

25. #Hashtag
▣ The original function of the hashtag was to tag
and organize photos or posts on social media
platforms.
▣ Hashtags are regarded as a “millennial” form of
communication but have become more impactful
through the last couple of years as online social
movements become more powerful (Chubb,
2018).
▣ It has now become a way for online communities
of activists to share information and be heard.
Prof. Note: A hashtag is not an artifact, but one
particular hashtag may be.Xochitl E. Contreras

26. #MeToo Movement
▣ The MeToo movement was originally founded in 2006
by Tarana Burke to help survivors of sexual violence,
particularly low-income young women of color, find
pathways to healing (Me Too).
▣ In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted a request to
her followers; she asked them to respond with “Me
too” if they had been sexually harassed or assaulted.
▣ The tweet and subsequent hashtag soon went viral
and created a national dialogue about sexual
violence.
▣ As a result of this hashtag, dozens of powerful men
were accused and a handful of them were criminally
charged with sexual assault (Pflum 2018).
Xochitl E. Contreras

27. Significance of the hashtag & its cultural force
▣ The use of the hashtag has helped raise
online awareness about social issues
▣ Hashtags can be used across a variety of
social media platforms, which means the
message can be carried along through
multiple mediums
▣ It has helped increase visibility about
issues that are otherwise ignored by
traditional media, such as sexual
violence and the MeToo movement
Xochitl E. Contreras

28. #MeToo
▣ The #MeToo Movement has changed the way our society has viewed
sexual assault
▣ If it wasn’t for the Me Too hashtag people would not have known
about the men who were sexually assaulting women
▣ It allows for other people who have been assaulted to come out and
tell their truth
▣ It allows them to feel more comfortable knowing they aren’t the only
ones who have experienced sexual violence, and gives them a
chance to tell their story.
Destiny Lara Benzor

29. Xochitl E.
Contreras

30. What would Marshall McLuhan say about your artifact and it’s the
relation to his writing?
▣ Marshall McLuhan would say that the use hashtags are more important is
creating new patterns or perception and thus altering the messages they are
communicating.
▣ The channel through which hashtags are used is social media, which means
hashtags have the ability to be seen globally.
▣ If hashtags had no views then the message behind them wouldn’t exist.
▣ The increasing use of hashtags has encouraged dialogue about social and
political issues, which in turn has created a change in beliefs and attitudes
about certain topics.
Destiny Lara Benzor

31. Comments on how our classmates can use this reading in their final
essay
▣ Our classmates can use this reading in their final essay by understanding that
the medium through which communication is transmitted is just as important as
the message being transmitted.
▣ It emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the ways in which different
mediums have impacted society throughout time, and the changes that
resulted from the inventions and uses of different mediums.
▣ It will help them understand the different ways in which society communicates
(not just verbal communication).
▣ It shows how the societal effects of a medium can be considered messages as
well.
Destiny Lara Benzor

32. References
Chubb, H. (2018, May 24). Does Hashtag Activism Work? Retrieved from
https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a20886254/hashtag-activism/
McLuhan, Marshall. (1964). “The medium is the message”. In Meenakshi Gigi
Durham & Douglas M. Keller (Eds.), Media and cultural studies keyworks (107-
116). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Me Too. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://metoomvmt.org/about/#history
Pflum, M. (2018, October 16). A year ago, Alyssa Milano started a conversation
about #MeToo. These women replied. Retrieved from
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/year-ago-alyssa-milano-started-
conversation-about-metoo-these-women-n920246