Marshall McLuhan - The Medium is the message

Who was Marshall McLuhan ?


In the book of Social Theory : Power and Identity in the global era , Marshall McLuhan  (1911-1980) was a theorist of literature whose came out the ideas about media and global culture. He invented several phrases that captured the popular imagination and continue to be useful pointers to key features of contemporary culture.


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"The Medium is the message"


The most famous phrases by Marshall McLuhan that has entered language and contemporary consciousness, influencing the way we think and feel about media, the way we perceive their effects, and our awareness of their potential repercussions.   


The medium is an extension of the human mind or body.


For example ,


An headset / handfree is the extension of our ear (that allows us to communicate to the others through mobile phone when we driving/ listening to music quietly)


The medium is the message is a trope that uses a phrase to encapsulate the fundamental premise of the study of media: that the medium communicates messages.


Here is the lecture of Marshall McLuhan of The medium is the message that I got from Youtube.com


Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

However, what if something occurs when a medium like headset/ handfree ,becomes over-extended? The resulting of amputations might be cause the person ear's deaf  or ear decease ? if someone turn up the volume too high. Although we know the advantages, even before implementation, but we choose to accept the disadvantages because there is a privileging of all types of technological extension, even deadly and horrific forms.


Four Questions Applied to Media


McLuhan has apply four laws to media that has frames as question , give us a new tool for looking at out culture.


"What does it (the medium/technology) extend?" For instant, mobile phone is extend our human voice.


"What does it make obsolete?" Mobile phone makes signals.


"What is retrieved?" The sense of community returns with the spread of telephone service.


"What does the technology reverse into if it is over-extended?" The over-extension of mobile phone culture engenders a need for solitude.


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Cross Cultural

Yesterday went for the Cultural talk. The talk was out of my expectation because I though it will be boring but actually it was quite lively and interesting especially the way of Speaker's (Shao Hong) brings out the information of culture for us.

By the way, from the Speaker, I get to know more about Cultural ,what cultural design feature and how we transfer cultural into our design.

Firstly, What is Cultural? Among of Malaysian, we know that what is our Cultural but however, we didn't know what deeply inside of Cultural. If I ask one of my friends what is Cultural , probably they will just answer 3 races in our country that is Malay,Chinese and Indian or traditional or other unrelated which they really don't understand the terms of cultural.

Before that, I might be one of my friends but from the note of Speaker that I have written , he said "Cultural is the way of life for an entire society and it generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance." Therefore, we could generate a new culture by doing an activities and some others practice the same activities , for example, if someone wearing earring on hers/his stomach then some others find it cool and learn to wear earring on hers/his stomach and more and more people also doing the same things. However, particular culture only play a specific role. Therefore, I only understand what is Cultural.

Besides that, why should we add culture into our design? It is because adding cultural value and create the core of product value. There are 3 culture structure:

1. Multiple Layers including layers representing artifacts values and basic assumptions.
2. A Framework for studying cultural objects ( the behaviour and meaning create by sociability
3. 3 layers : Physical/Material culture ( Food,garments/transportation...etc)
                  Social/ Behaviour culture (Human relationships/social)
                  Spiritual/Ideal Culture (Art & Religion)

While the Framework are : The Outer Level ( Colour,texture,form..)

                                           The middle Level ( Function,Safely...)

                                           The Inner level ( stories,emoticons, cultural festival...)

However, we should feel sensitive of the cultural elements that we use in our design model. In Cross cultural Design Model that actually a process of rethinking or reviewing. Before we design our model, we should identify to select one of the cultural features. In this process, we should really careful what we going to use because some of the element of cultural is violating. For example the Speaker show us the batik .

If we going to use batik into our design model, we shouldn't just apply that pattern because we like it but we should deep research into each of them because each of them convey different meaning and different names. Some of them are only can use for loyal family.

However, the research method is involve 3 process.

Identification --> Translation --> Implementation

There are also 4 steps that really helpful not only just for how to apply cultural into our design but also the other aspect. 

Step 1 : Investigation ( Setting a scenario)

Before we design our product/model , the research process is essential. No matter how, firstly we should read through the history of the cultural. This deep research is to help us to avoid abstinence of the cultural we use.

Step 2 : Interaction ( telling a story)

In this process, we should know exactly how culture had been applied. Therefore, looking other people works that had been done by them for better references and set our target audience.

Step 3 : Development ( Writing a script)

We should now begin to work on it , working on thumbnail or sketches and write a script. However, we should consider about the fashion and our user taste.

In a nutshell, the lesson that I have learn in this talk is we should careful about the material we are going to use, we should really deep research about it and follow the steps so to achieve a better design.

However, good design is come from many research.

Example that I found :

Art project Shinobi is a creative collaboration of two artists – visual artist Mike Zubik and calligraphic artist Ulia Kuznetsova.


The project started as the base for development of creative ideas of two stylistically different artists. Mike and Julia share similar approach to the visual solutions as well as identical views on the creative process. They are experienced in several creative spheres, but singled out two main directions in their own works – form and expression. Inspiration with Asian culture has become the essence of all Shinobi artworks. Both artists point out the huge influence of Asia on the contemporary worldwide culture.


Resorting to different styles and materials, the artists worked out a unique style of their own, which is based on seven elements of traditional fine arts and calligraphy, airbrushing, spray painting, and the elements of digital painting, like the mixed media Skateboard series.

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Further reading : click HERE

Let's D.I.Y :)

D.I.Y stands for Do It Yourself

for me, it's actually building,modifying and repairing something with a cheap materials.

This is some of the images that I collected in Facebook, because I like D.I.Y very much :).

Then, I would like to share with you all, hope those really helps you all.

Using bread instead of rice to make sushi~:) 

Any sushi lovers? lols

However, I like this idea, but I afraid, doesn't the plastic of Milo will melt when IRON IT?

You can also D.I.Y illusion~

Something nice and cheap that can give your friends as a gift

Simple D.I.Y for kids, I think.

D.I.Y Doraemon paper's toy :)

This is cool idea! Make a CD cover by just a sheet of paper.

Nice,simple and cheap.

D.I.Y Pikachu paper's toy :)

Delicious fried ice-cream! I will try to make it in one day :D

However, we can not only D.I.Y not only for the medium that we use, but also appear into the online games.

One of the example that I found

it's actually for kids, we need to choose the color and fill in the place(s) that we want, and it is actually a feedback loop for us when the color appear that what we want.

Here is the link for this game , http://www.flash-games.net/online/2885/cartoon-diy.html

Another link that I found many D.I.Y games
suft it and play if you like ^^

http://www.fupa.com/games/1/diy.html

The true reaction ;)

This morning I found something true and interesting when I Facebook-ing

The reaction of a person when she/he playing a game :D

1st picture is the reaction when a person playing adventure game
2nd picture is the reaction when a person playing battle game
3rd picture is the reaction when a person waiting for the game start
4th picture is the reaction when a person playing racing car game


This is so Me when I playing a game with the controller.

Intertextuality?

Hmm... what is Intertextuality?

In my research about the definition of intertextuality that I saw from reference.com that intertextuality is actually a shaping of texts meaning by other texts. In Daniel Chong class, Daniel said it can refer to an author's or director's that borrowing and transformation some other's author's or director's work and has been adapted in cultural and media studies to identify examples of parody. However, intertextuality itself has introduced by Julia Kristeva in 1966 who is a Poststructuralist.

So here is the example I found in Youtube



In this video that provides a detail definition of intertextuality ,however, I'm very thankful for them to show me some of the examples :) Anyway , I find the starting music and words that actually intertextuality to Star Wars! Doesn't it?

and some examples I found in Facebook

In the fashion modern world that show in the right image actually intertextuality to the left image after several years, but it's still cool!

Everytime we see explosion at the back of the people in movie, then we think of it actually intertextuality to another movie :) 

So do this, they are intertextuality from MIB poster

Semiotics?

In Daniel Chandler's discussion, he said, Semiotics could be anywhere but doesn't mean that it has a wiser enquirers .Although it is hard to find a simple definition for Semiotics, thus it's shorten of definition is, the study of signs.


However, Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. It is the study of how meaning is created, not what it is.


Therefore, the below is some short definition of semiotics terms that I found in Semiotic Terminology  (I found it useful, when I get lost of some part of semiotics terms, I can refer back and it's really helps a lot. =] )




Signifier: any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, an image.


Signified: the concept that a signifier refers to.

Together, the signifier and signified make up the

Sign: the smallest unit of meaning. Anything that can be used to communicate (or to tell a lie).

So is Signifier + Signified = Sign

Symbolic (arbitrary) signs: signs where the relation between signifier and signified is purely conventional and culturally specific, e.g., most words.


Iconic signs: signs where the signifier resembles the signified, e.g., a picture.


Indexical Signs: signs where the signifier is caused by the signified, e.g., smoke signifies fire.


Denotation: the most basic or literal meaning of a sign, e.g., the word "rose" signifies a particular kind of flower.


Connotation: the secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or "signifying signs," signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning, e.g., the word "rose" signifies passion.


Metonymy: a kind of connotation where in one sign is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.


Synecdoche(Syntagms?): a kind of connotation in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor).


Collections of related connotations can be bound together either by

Paradigmatic relations: where signs get meaning from their association with other signs.

or by

Syntagmatic relations: where signs get meaning from their sequential order, e.g., grammar or the sequence of events that make up a story.


Myths: a combination of paradigms and syntagms that make up an oft-told story with elaborate cultural associations, e.g., the cowboy myth, the romance myth.


Codes: a combination of semiotic systems, a super system, that function as general maps of meaning, belief systems about oneself and others, which imply views and attitudes about how the world is and/or ought to be. Codes are where semiotics and social structure and values connect.


Ideologies: codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power. Ideology works largely by creating forms of "common sense," of the taken-for-granted in everyday life.


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From the above of semiotics's terms, we know that there are many branch out of semiotics and is quite complicated. In the following, I wish to share some interesting examples for useful to figure out the 4 sets of semiotics which could also helps in my final essay. The 4 sets are:

• Iconic/ Arbitary
• Paradigm /Syntagms
• Denotation/Connotation/Myth
• Binary opposition

Semiotics, however,  it is actually structuring the very realities which they seem to 'describe' or 'stand in for'. Which meaning can be produced by socially, whether through words, colour, gesture, music, fashion, etc.

Iconic:

In Iconic , I found some interesting example which related to Vietnam War Era
Click here.
Thus after reading the examples, in my opinion that Iconic can be emotional of something and emotional can be a tool of communication.

Arbitrary:

Arbitrary could be form by signifier and signified.
Robert C. Allen noted that "Saussure stressed that the relationship between the signifier and the signified in verbal language was entirely conventional, completely arbitrary."

For example,

 "Dog" is composed of the grouping of three letters ---> the Signifier

The concept of Dog that we normally imagine is an animal with 4 legs ,having sharp teeth, biting bones, having smelling sense, cute, etc. ---> the Signified

However, Saussure noted that, There is no natural or necessary connection between Dog and the concept for which it stands. Furthermore, words have no positive value. A word's meaning derives entirely from its difference from other words in the sign system of language. Words do not enter into relationships with other signs in the system in a meaningful way, they remain at the level of nonsense.

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In Werner Hammerstingl's notes that,

Paradigm is

An example, pattern or standard. In grammar, a paradigm is the set of inflected forms of a word -- e.g., "artist, artist's, artists, artists'" -- or the standard pattern followed in the conjugation of a verb -- first person singular, second person singular, third person singular, first person plural, second person plural, third person plural. 2. By extension, the term also refers to the basic structure of given mind-sets or models of knowledge, as in paradigm shift.


Saussurean semiotics has developed the notion that every sign is part of a system of relationships with other signs structured through similarity and difference. These systems are called paradigms. A word thus has a paradigmatic relationship with its own inflections, new words established through prefixes and suffixes, synonyms and antonyms, etc.

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For example:

A Paradigm of Colored Lights

While Syntagms are:

the combination elements of Paradigm do not necessarily have meaning in and of themselves. Most often they take on meaning as they are combined into more complex patterns of signs called syntagms.

For example:

Syntagms Formed from the Paradigm

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Denotation , Connotation & Myth:

An example for Denotation and Connotation 

click here

Thus, for my own understanding, Denotation is the general meaning of the item/object. In media and cultural studies, this is where we describe what it looks like from a visual perspective. Colors, shapes, people, lighting, clothing to name. While Connotation refers to various meanings. not just one. In other words, this is where an object, animal, person might be also related to the word.Hence , it's a range of implied and associated meanings and ideas are formed. However, my lecturer (Daniel Chong) said that Myth is formed by denotation and connotation.

Binary Opposition:

A binary opposition is a binary relation in which one correlate is marked and the other unmarked. There are two logically distinct types of markedness. In markedness of the general type, there is an attribute of the marked correlate that is not an attribute of the unmarked correlate. In markedness of the specific type, the correlates of a binary relation share an attribute where the attribute of the marked correlate is in some sense more or less than the attribute of the unmarked correlate. A binary opposition may be marked in different ways, for different attributes.

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In my opinion, binary opposition is just like 反义词 in mandrin which a set off against one another.