CCT+300+Lab+3

= **Lab 3** =

Do you agree or disagree with McLuhan when he defines comics as an extension of photographic media?

I agree with McLuhan when he defines comics as an extension of photographic media. This is due to McLuhan’s interpretation of "hot" and "cool" media. "Hot" media is for example movies and radio broadcasts. They require very little thought and are very easily depicted by the audience by enhancing vision or sound. "Cool" media for example are books or comics. They require more of a thought process to depict its true values and meanings as it requires a lot of self visualization.

Comics for example have pictures, sometimes with limited colours and visualizations, and text under it stating dialogue. However some comics don’t even have dialogue, leaving only drawings to depict the meaning or story of the comic. This is why it is very similar to photographic media because the audience must look at it and depict its meaning through a thought process in order to understand it. Sometimes audiences can also have different meanings of one picture due to it being an example of "cool" media.

Comics, although they are only drawings, they require more engagement from the audience and thought processes than “hot” media such as TV or the radio. Therefore, although most parents would find comics to be a waste of time for their children, it is allowing their children to depict the characters, themes and meanings of these drawings that help exercise the brain in filling in the blanks that are usually provided in “hot” media.

Photographic media according to McLuhan falls into the category of “cool” media. It is just a visualization that depicts a pose, story, theme or action. It does not however concentrate on one sense, as it does not enhance vision, as it is a still picture, and does not enhance sound, as it does not have any sound characteristics. This is why McLuhan defines comics as an extension of photographic media, because comics have the same characteristics in the audiences thought processes as photographic media.

Works Cited
McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. Gingko Press, 2003. 22. Print.