In 1964, Marshall McLuhan published his seminal work on media theory,

Question

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.   1 
 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.

2 
 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.”

3 
 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”

Only1 · Accepted Answer

Yes,you are correct that McLohan is mentioned as reductivist in the 2nd para but you need to read and understand the question properly. Reductivist tag is given by one of the critics. However, the question asks about McLuhan. The views of McLuhan is clearly mentioned in para1. I. e. Hot if less participation n cool if more participation. That makes option D wrong. I hope it's clear. Press Kudos if you find this helpful

Nikhil · Answer

+1 kudos to all the posts containing proper explanations for all questions

dabaobao · Answer

Passage Map: 
1) In 1964, Marshall McLuhan published his seminal work on media theory, Understanding Media. => About MM's theory and MM's contribution
2) Critics have dismissed McLuhan’s work as being reductivist. => Views of 3 critics

globaldesi · Answer

For question 1
A movie comparison with television can be used as an analogy. Anything "hot" requires less participation from end user, similarly lecture is hot, since it requires less participation from end user.

Question 2:
. He dismisses it for placing undue emphasis upon the technology used to communicate rather than on what is communicated.: No where mentioned

b. He disagrees with its conclusion but acknowledges the contribution that it has made to the study of popular culture. :  not clear with eco's point
 
c. He believes that it oversimplifies a concept by conflating disparate ideas. :  correct. Eco believes "McLuhan has blurred the lines among the distinct concepts of channel, code, and message"
 
d.He wholeheartedly rejects McLuhan’s assertion that “the medium is the message.”:  Not mentioned

e. He believes that it inappropriately elevates the concept of “message” over those of “channel” and “code.”:  Not mentioned

727 · Answer

d. present some of the contributions of and objections to a prominent scholar of media theory 
what does this mean^^^^
so many "of" (*O*)

Aayush9093 · Answer

Can someone please explain why option D in question 1 is not correct? From the second paragraph, it is clear that McLuhan was 'reductivist', which means he oversimplified and 'blurred' the codes, etc. This suggests that instead of considering the codes, etc as distinct, he considered them as one with 'medium'?

venkywaran · Answer

In Q1, I understand why B is correct. But why is A wrong in Q1?
More participation--'cooler' right?

singhalh5962 · Answer

The author supply information neither about the difference in participation levels nor about the coolness of comics over TV.
He simply categorizes these two mediums as an opposites of "HOT".

souvikgmat1990 · Answer

I dismissed B, because it says lecture is "hotter" than a seminar. Shouldn't it be "hotter medium".
Is it a typo or am I missing something here?

PRIYANSHU1111 · Answer

Explanation for question 3

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

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

As per the passage, McLuhan's theory, more details and definition, less participation = "hot" and the opposite = "cool".

a. Television is a “cooler” medium than comics are because television requires more participation from the audience.  The passage does not compare TV and comics. Eliminate.

b. A lecture is “hotter” than a seminar is because a lecture requires less participation from the audience.  Correct. Less participation = "hot"

c. As technology develops, media are becoming “cooler.”  The passage does not give McLuhan's views on this. Eliminate.

d. Rather than being distinct ideas, channel, code, and message are merely different aspects of the concept of “medium.”  While the passage does state McLuhan's critics as opining that he has blurred the lines between channel, code and message, we do not know if he felt that they were different aspects of "medium". Eliminate.

e. Radio is a “hotter” medium than television is because radio requires more participation from the audience.  More participation = "cool". Eliminate.

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

As per the passage, Eco claims that "within the word “medium,” McLuhan has blurred the lines among the distinct concepts of channel, code, and message.".

a. He dismisses it for placing undue emphasis upon the technology used to communicate rather than on what is communicated.  These are Debray's views, not Eco's. Eliminate.

b. He disagrees with its conclusion but acknowledges the contribution that it has made to the study of popular culture.  These are the author's views, not Eco's. Eliminate.

c. He believes that it oversimplifies a concept by conflating disparate ideas.  Correct. Consistent with above.

d. He wholeheartedly rejects McLuhan’s assertion that “the medium is the message.”  We don't know if Eco completely rejects McLuhan's views - he may agree with some of them. Eliminate.

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

3. The primary purpose of the passage is to

The passage discusses McLuhan's theory, some criticism of it and concludes on a positive note about McLuhan's contribution.

a. discuss criticisms of the ideas presented in McLuhan’s Understanding Media  While some criticisms are discussed, there are other important ideas in the passage. Eliminate.

b. dismiss the objections of two critics of McLuhan’s views on media theory  The passage does not dismiss the critics of McLuhan's theory. Eliminate.

c. call for a renewed study of the theories that McLuhan presents in Understanding Media  The passage does not "call for a renewed study" of McLuhan's theory. Eliminate.

d. present some of the contributions of and objections to a prominent scholar of media theory  Correct. Consistent with above.

e. reconcile competing views of McLuhan’s claim that “the media is the message”  The passage does not "reconcile" any views. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In 1964, Marshall McLuhan published his seminal work on media theory,

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In 1964, Marshall McLuhan published his seminal work on media theory,

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