Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian scholar who had an area of focus in medium theory. His idea that “the medium is the message” is his most famous. Since his death in 1980, technology has advanced considerably making the variety of today’s media increasingly vast compared to the media of his time (Wolf 2004). Nonetheless, his theories can still apply to modern media. Netflix, a provider of on demand Internet media, specifically movies and televisions shows, is one of these new media. His theory of hot and cold media can apply to it, where Netflix as a hot medium, if not used sensibly, can affect one’s perception of the world negatively.
All media absorb the senses to some degree. McLuhan 's hot and cold media determines to which degree certain
One of the key features to look for when buying headphones is noise cancellation, the ability to block out other unwanted sounds (eBay 2014). Therefore, if they are decent quality headphones, watching Netflix with headphones allows their auditory input will remain completely consumed. Additionally, McLuhan believed that cinematic movies were a hot medium because theatres are in the dark, this way there is no other light distracting from the brightness of the screen accepting it to be the main focus (McLuhan 1964, 7) The same effect can apply to whichever screen Netflix is being used on; darkness only enhances the visual experience. Nevertheless, being in an environment where Netflix can completely consume the senses, such as watching it alone, in a dark room, with headphones on, it “hot[s]-up” these senses even more, increasing their absorption level (McLuhan 1967, 35) If a user allows this, they are then living in their own world, a closed bubble, where there is no room for critical reflection. This leaves them alone with their own views, which can skew one’s perception of the world (Johnson 2011). In addition, “hotting-up” the senses has ways of prolonging the time spent in their own world as well (McLuhan 1964,
This effect of "hypnosis" has already depicted itself through Netflix subscribers in the form of binge watching. Binge watching is "the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession" (Wikipedia 2015). Sixty-one percent of the sixty million Netflix subscribers binge watch television shows every few weeks (Smith 2015). The hypnosis that comes with certain hot media could play a role in these statistics. While under a hypnotic trance, one is "highly responsive to suggestion or direction" (Wikipedia 2015). On Netflix, after finishing one episode of a program, it has a direct link that starts the next one, and even if one is does not click it, it automatically starts after thirty seconds (Netflix 2013). Being under hypnosis while watching a television show makes it harder to resist the link for the next episode, making it easy to binge watch. Binge watching takes up a lot of time, as an average season for a television show nowadays is 10 hours (Ryan 2011). This lengthens the time spent in isolation, which can worsen self-centred perceptions (Johnson
Media, the plural form of medium, describes various ways in which we communicate in society. A phone call, email, radio, computer, news on TV, etc. are all forms of media. In our society today, the media plays a significantly large role in influencing society negatively, twisting one’s perspective of the truth. In author Brooke Gladstone’s, The Influencing Machine, she discusses how media is looked at as an “influencing machine,” that’s controlling the mind of its viewers. Throughout the reading, Gladstone guides her readers through perceptions of media and how it influences them to get readers to understand the truth about media and the manipulation behind it.
Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. Spell/hypnosis is how companies get you to buy things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there are 10 different types of water you can buy.
Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens.
As long as a balanced lifestyle is maintained, binge watching can be quite healthy. For some people, binge viewing can be a great stress reliever and provide a type of television therapy (Matrix 129). For example, stressed out students regularly rely on binge viewing to immersive themselves in another world for the pleasure of leaving their own stressful lives (Matrix 129). Binge watching provides an escape from the pressures and anxieties of everyday life, giving consumers an outlet to getaway and immerse themselves in an activity, which has dramatically less damaging consequences than other outlets that stressed out individuals use to escape, such as drugs and
Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams, both cornerstones in their respected media theory and cultural studies, differed in their opinions of the relationship between media technology and social change. McLuhan believed in technological determinism, which is “an approach that identifies technology, or technological developments, as the central causal element in processes of change” (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan 290). In other words, McLuhan believes that new technology drives the way cultural values and social structures develop. He was interested in the cultural effects produced by electronic media; he was especially interested in the effects of televisions. McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage argued that technology has changed the way humans do things and interact, that “all media are extensions of some human faculty” (McLuhan 5).
The ideas put forth in Marshall McLuhan's Media Hot and Cold, present many theories regarding the effects of media on the world. What qualifies as media, in essence, is any experience or information, imparted on the awareness of an individual and/or societies. These can be physical or nonphysical influences. TV and radio are examples of physical media. Their effects and evolution can be easily observed. However, and perhaps more importantly, McLuhan examines those nonphysical influences which can be observed in the individual and society. It is not enough to merely identify these mediums as such. What is more crucial is the perpetual waxing and waning of influence of such ineffable phenomena, whose identity and existence rely upon their interdependency
The definition of corporate culture is the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company 's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions (Fisher). A culture of a company can very it can be fun and relaxing or uptight and all about business what ever it is the way the company does everything from how they sell their products to how you are expected to work . A lot of people think of Google when they think of place that has good employee culture, but all the extravagant things that they offer doesn’t mean that that is the only thing that makes for a good employee culture. For example the human resource department at Netflix is more typical not offering any nap times or special foods but it offers things on a
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix headquartered in Los Gatos, CA, began the company’s operations in 1997 after receiving an enormous late charge from a movie rental he returned long overdue. However, Hastings had the desire to be different than traditional movie outlets; whereas, customers had to drive to the location, pay a certain amount for each movie they rented, and were given a deadline in which to return the movie. Instead of using a method established by other video markets “to attract customers to a retail location, Netflix offered home delivery of DVDs through the mail” which eventually led to a booming business towards streaming forms of entertainment (Shih, Kaufman, & Spinola, 2009, p. 3). Today, Netflix exists along with several competitors; however, offers the most streaming content available for viewing, and continues to grow its subscriber base both domestically and globally. Although, direct and indirect competitors, acquisition costs, and several barriers present a financial threat for Netflix, the company has managed to grow with the acclamation of partnerships, expand to international territories, and vastly increase its price in shares of stock.
In a movie theater, there are experiences that some will not have while at home and watching Netflix, such as the enormous screen, comfortable movie theater seating, and the theater speakers. Netflix can be used in a causal way with friends, but the main purpose of watching a movie is enjoying the experiences one can get from the movie itself. While at the movie theaters, the environment is completely different, because everyone is supposed to be quiet or else they risk being thrown out. The experience does not compare to the feeling someone gets when that intense scene appears, and they get immersed into the atmosphere of the theater. Movie theaters have the opportunity to give someone an unforgettable experience unlike Netflix, because the ambiance is truly unique and unmatched by anyone’s living
Newspaper, radio, film, television. These are only a few of the various forms media can take. From the moment we open our eyes to the instant we shut them, we are surrounded by media and absorb the information it hurls at us in an osmosis-like manner. The news ranges from the latest terror attack and political scandals to supposed UFO sightings and scandals involving sandals. We as an audience tend to focus more on the message the media relays rather than on the medium in which it is presented to us. “What?” is asked more than “How?” The key claim Marshall McLuhan makes in his book, The Medium is the Massage, is that the form of media influences how the message is perceived. Let’s illustrate this with a scenario: it’s eight o’clock in the morning.
Currently, our society is changing again with the onslaught of electric media, namely computers and the Internet. We must continue to analyze this technology with the realization that the medium is the message, or else we will never fully understand our culture or the effect of technology on it and on our lives.
Whether consciously aware of what is being displayed or not, media plays a substantial role in influencing consumption patterns and lifestyle. Researchers noted television's power to influence even people who are illiterate. Smith-Speck and Roy (2008) explained that even individua...
Television has become one of the major entertainment providers in our modern life. It sits in the living room of about almost every home in the world and it is the one thing that most people like to come home to after a long day of work or school. Not only does it give us something to laugh or get scared at but it also provides us with valuable information about what is happening around our local community and around different places in the world. But, as good as this sounds, Television may be affecting us without even realizing it. Being one of the major distractors in today 's society, it gets us attached to its content in which a lot of people spend a lot of their time watching. Being thus, watching too
“How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and the fourth wall-TV installed?" If I think of the future of media I remember this quotation from Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”. Will television remain an important part of mass media or will the Internet kill it? What role are mobile devices going to play and what about movies in 2020?
One of the physiological effects of watching television in excessive amounts is eye-strain. It is true that there are specifications for watching television; television should be 5 m. away from the eye, the room should be adequately lit, television should be placed at the same height with our eyes, etc. However, these do not prevent our eyes from getting tired if we keep watching television for a long time. Another effect is obesity, which is widely observed in people who like watching television and eating snacks everyday (there is even a term “television snacks” to refer to fast food that is suitable for eating in front of the television). television is such a powerful machine that people cannot get away from it – it is addictive. Apart from the physiological effects, television also causes psychological effects. One is a result of being exposed to