In 1964, Marshall McLuhan published his seminal work on media theory, Understanding Media. In this book, McLuhan first articulated the idea that would come to be known as “the medium is the message.” McLuhan coined the descriptions “hot” and “cool” to describe the level of interactivity inherent to different forms of communication. To McLuhan, high definition media such as movies were “hot” in that they engaged the sense of vision so completely that the audience need not fill in any details on its own. In contrast, McLuhan deemed lower definition media, such as television and comics, “cool” in that they offered less detail to the audience and thus required that the audience participate more actively in determining meaning.

Critics have dismissed McLuhan’s work as being reductivist. Notably, Eco has claimed that within the word “medium,” McLuhan has blurred the lines among the distinct concepts of channel, code, and message. Likewise, Debray has dismissed McLuhan’s ideas as placing undue emphasis upon the technology itself instead of analyzing how the technology is used. Criticisms aside, however, McLuhan’s groundbreaking work has forever changed the landscape of popular cultural criticism and has greatly enriched the vocabulary that scholars still use today.

The passage suggests that McLuhan would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

a. Television is a “cooler” medium than comics are because television requires more participation from the audience.

b. A lecture is “hotter” than a seminar is because a lecture requires less participation from the audience.

c. As technology develops, media are becoming “cooler.”

d. Rather than being distinct ideas, channel, code, and message are merely different aspects of the concept of “medium.”

e. Radio is a “hotter” medium than television is because radio requires more participation from the audience.


According to the passage, which of the following is the most accurate description of Eco’s view of McLuhan’s work?

a. He dismisses it for placing undue emphasis upon the technology used to communicate rather than on what is communicated.

b. He disagrees with its conclusion but acknowledges the contribution that it has made to the study of popular culture.

c. He believes that it oversimplifies a concept by conflating disparate ideas.

d.He wholeheartedly rejects McLuhan’s assertion that “the medium is the message.”

e. He believes that it inappropriately elevates the concept of “message” over those of “channel” and “code.”


The primary purpose of the passage is to

a. discuss criticisms of the ideas presented in McLuhan’s Understanding Media

b. dismiss the objections of two critics of McLuhan’s views on media theory

c. call for a renewed study of the theories that McLuhan presents in Understanding Media

d. present some of the contributions of and objections to a prominent scholar of media theory

e. reconcile competing views of McLuhan’s claim that “the media is the message”