I agree with Marshall McLuhan when he stated that, "the medium is the message." McLuhan believed the channel of delivery is just as important as the message and that the channel determines the content that will be delivered. I agree some channel or form of delivery is compatible with certain kinds of messages. For an example, newspapers can only deliver messages that can be reported in words, like world events, history, information about people etc. Newspapers can't really describe concerts very well. Those just have to be seen. But with television, there's so many messages that can be delivered, not just news. With television, we can see moving pictures, moving words, moving emotions etc. Everything on television is like as if we are right there experiencing those moments broadcasted. It's best to broadcast a concert rather than write about it.
McLuhan also refers to television as a "cool medium." When I think of "cool" and television, I think of those people who are on reality shows such as "Real World," "America's Next Top Model," etc. Those people are willing to broadcast their life is "cool." But the word "cool" is also very subjective. The meaning of cool is defined for the whole society by people who own television. So "cool" is not so much how society defines but rather how television makes society perceive "coolness". Over the years of watching television and the types of characters they portray, it seems like the "cool" are people who are out there in terms of being talkative, outspoken, partiers, wild cats, and every now and then they actually do have a character who is "goody-two-shoes." Shows like Gossip Girls or 90210 is a good example of how television define the word "cool." The characters on these shows are rich, beautiful, skinny, Caucasian etc. I feel that television broadcast certain people to guarantee good "drama" that people can enjoy and good television ratings. Sometimes, a "cool" television can refer to how people see the characters on TV. People can view those characters as how they want to be in real life but can't because their real life situations limit their ability to fully express themselves.
McLuhan also says that characters who are "hot" are more suitable for radio. When I first heard of "hot" and radio, I think of characters who create controversy or can say statements in such a way that arouses emotions of all kinds. I listen to the radio sometimes and mostly I just hear talk show hosts who can verbally express statements that gets people thinking or active about something.
The concept of "cool television" or "hot radio" is very new to me, but it makes sense in today's society.
Signing out,
Events Dreamer
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Good post. I liked the example you gave about describing a concert. Its true that one can write about how awesome a band was, but its a lot more believable to see and hear it for yourself on TV.
ReplyDeleteI like to listen to talk radio at work, so i understand what you were saying about radio hosts. Because you can not see them, they have to be even more verbally out there with their opinions, tones and even their topics. They are forced to do this to try to keep their audience interesting. Its like fast, loud action. If i head a talk show host that has a boring voice I change the channel.