Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man is a 1964 book by Marshall McLuhan, in which the author proposes that the media, not the content that they carry, should be the focus of study. He suggests that the medium affects the society in which it plays a role mainly by the characteristics of the medium rather than the content. The book is considered a pioneering study in media theory.
McLuhan pointed to the light bulb as an example. A light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, yet it is a medium that has a social effect; that is, a light bulb enables people to create spaces during nighttime that would otherwise be enveloped by darkness. He describes the light bulb as a medium without any content. McLuhan states that "a light bulb creates an environment by its mere presence".[1]
More controversially, he postulated that content had little effect on society—in other words, it did not matter if television broadcasts children's shows or violent programming. He noted that all media have characteristics that engage the viewer in different ways; for instance, a passage in a book could be reread at will, but a movie had to be screened again in its entirety to study any individual part of it.
The book is the source of the well-known phrase "the medium is the message". It was a leading indicator of the upheaval of local cultures by increasingly globalized values. The book greatly influenced academics, writers, and social theorists. The book discussed the radical analysis of social change, how society is shaped, and reflected by communications media.
^Understanding Media, p. 8.
and 28 Related for: Understanding Media information
UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man is a 1964 book by Marshall McLuhan, in which the author proposes that the media, not the content that they carry...
the "father of media studies". McLuhan coined the expression "the medium is the message" in the first chapter in his UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions...
title of Understanding Comics is an homage to Marshall McLuhan's seminal 1964 work UnderstandingMedia.[citation needed] Excerpts from Understanding Comics...
colleague, and fellow media scholar, Marshall McLuhan to Fordham University, and subsequently founding the Center for UnderstandingMedia, which became the...
theorist Marshall McLuhan and the name of the first chapter in his UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964. McLuhan proposes that...
capacity for skepticism, judgement, free thinking, questioning, and understanding. Media consumption is to maximize the interests of consumers. For as long...
instrumental in the development of media theory during this period which is now famous declaration in UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man, that "the...
books The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man (1962) and UnderstandingMedia (1964). Literary scholar Sue-Im Lee describes how the term global...
Hermkens, Kristopher (2011). "Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media". Business Horizons (Submitted manuscript)...
communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival...
Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, published in 2002, is a collection of previously unpublished transcripts of seminars, talks, and question-and-answer...
from evaluations of scientists to our understanding of others' opinions. The overall influence of mass media has changed drastically over the years,...
every time it is seen, then this will result in viral growth. In UnderstandingMedia (1964), philosopher Marshall McLuhan describes photography in particular...
and Broadcasting#Media Ethics Code Sources Straubhaar, Joseph D., Robert LaRose, and Lucinda Davenport. Media Now: UnderstandingMedia, Culture, and Technology...
in mass media reflect societal attitudes about transgender identity, and have varied and evolved with public perception and understanding. Media representation...
the participation by communities that create the media. One way of understanding alternative media is to consider their role in the process of democratic...
naissance de la prison. [Paris] : Gallimard, 1975). "McLuhan: UnderstandingMedia". UnderstandingMedia. 1964. p. 13. Archived from the original on December 8...
consider diversity in media can also be enhanced by media and information literacy (MIL). They argue that it can be useful in understanding the consequences...
at the Wayback Machine, Chapman & Hall. McLuhan, Marshall (1964). UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man. McGraw-Hill Education. reissued by Gingko...
"Love and Understanding" is a song by American singer and actress Cher from her 20th studio album, Love Hurts (1991). Written by Diane Warren and produced...
Marshall McLuhan, in his 1964 book UnderstandingMedia, articulated the concept academically in describing the effects of media. As a social theory or sociological...
vital aspect of human societies. By understanding mass media, one is then able to analyse and find a deeper understanding of one's population and culture...
explored in UnderstandingMedia. By playing on words and using the term "massage," McLuhan suggests that modern audiences enjoy mainstream media as soothing...
and understanding of the term. In the 2017 Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, S. Robert Lichter described how in academic circles, media bias...
link from HathiTrust Marshall McLuhan (1964) UnderstandingMedia, p.13 "McLuhan: UnderstandingMedia". Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved...
widely known work, UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man (1964), is a study in media theory. In it McLuhan proposed that media themselves, not the...
Global Information