6th Topic: Tetrad of Media Effects

"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us"

-Marshal McLuhan-

the tetrad of media effects

1st Citical Reflection
On the above is a diagram of McLuhan's theory to examine the effects of any medium on society. Based on my research and understanding, I've come up certain meanings to elaborate a little on the elements of the tetrad.

Enhance: What does the new media or technology make something impossible, improve or enhance?

Increasing the effects of which focus on the practical actions by using a medium. It is to create a kind of power to engulf the previous problem faced as a solution.
eg: In the case of a car it would be the foot, in the case of a phone it would be the voice.

Obsolesces: What is pushed aside or obsolesced by the new media?

The significant medium of which that we used before will wear away and doesn't need to be use anylonger. The past medium will get sink.
eg: The car makes walking obsolete, and the phone makes smoke signals and carrier pigeons unnecessary.

Retrieves: What earlier action or service is brought back into play by the new form? What older or previously obsolesced media is brought back and becomes an essential part of the new form?

The once lost or sunk media will get recovered back their values and insight. It is needed to be part of the newly form media.
eg: The sense of adventure or quest is retrieved with the car, and the sense of community returns with the spread of telephone service. One might consider the rise of the cross-country vacation that accompanied the spread of automobile ownership.

Reverse: When pushed to the limits of its potential, the new form will reverse of what was its original characteristics. What is the potential reversal of the new form?

The reverse of improvement which result in unexpected dissatisfaction. When it is pushed to its limits, the medium will flips back on its user, creating a new problem.
eg: An over-extended automobile culture longs for the pedestrian lifestyle, and the over-extension of phone culture engenders a need for solitude.


2nd Critical Reflection
There are millions of reading material on the internet. Online news, comic books, magazines, articles and many more can be easily found widely. Using McLuhan theory, tetrad of media effects, I'm going to explain the media effects of being able to read an online manga on the internet.

Enhance: Its enhance our eyes to read lots of manga from various artist and titles that is shared online.

Obsolesces: Trip to the bookshop and searching on the shelves is no longer necessary

Retrieves: We were able to read alot of manga books online at the same time for free despite of wasting energy and money. We can just type what manga we wanted to read and can read it right away.

Reverses: Over-extended of reading the manga for free, will cause some thieves to download it and make a mass copy of it to create a pirated manga for the benefir of oneself. This in turn will cause the publisher to having a loss.


Personal Reflection
Surprisingly, Mr Radzi said that the due date for the 2nd assignment is today. It was a shocked, but it was a joke. Somehow, that teach me how to be prepared early.

Either I'm not listening very well, or Mr Radzi didn't speak quite clearly. Sometimes he explains something a little bit fast but low, and people who are sitting on the back can't catch what Mr Radzi is really saying.


with passion,
~Fadhil~