Deck 26: Media Ecology Theory

Question 1

Scholars term McLuhan's work "media ecology" because

A) it emphasizes the audience
B) it views media as an environment
C) it is a paradigm rather than a theory
D) it reflected the popular media at the time

Answer 1

it views media as an environment

Question 2

McLuhan felt that _________ is a "corporate image" that relies on society for its status and sustenance.

A) a game
B) time
C) money
D) luck

Answer 2

money

Question 3

"The medium is the message" suggests that

A) media continue to subordinate the masses
B) media content is secondary to the channel
C) people are intoxicated by television over other media
D) print was the most influential of all media

Answer 3

media content is secondary to the channel

Question 4

Which of the following is a hot medium, according to McLuhan?

A) telephone
B) conversations
C) television
D) radio

Question 5

The main distinguishing factor between hot and cool media is the

A) involvement required of the audience member
B) number of senses required in order to consume it
C) effects the media content have on the audience
D) era in history when the medium was developed

Question 6

The beginning of the industrial revolution characterizes which era in media history?

A) tribal
B) literate
C) print
D) electronic

Question 7

To illustrate the hot and cool media, McLuhan analyzed

A) a presidential debate
B) television commercials
C) celebrity speeches
D) telephone messages

Question 8

McLuhan claimed that the content of a message is what gets our attention, and that the effect of the medium is largely

A) overstated
B) subconscious
C) temporary
D) ecological

Question 9

When Neil Postman states that we have become a technopoly, he is stating that

A) we are preoccupied with computers
B) technology dominates our thinking
C) the Internet has too much power
D) television has ruled our lives for too long

Question 10

Joshua Meyrowitz contends that

A) what was once private is now public
B) media operate on a personal level
C) our society has a love affair with computers
D) people are incapable of change

Question 11

Which approach to knowing characterizes the research undertaken using Media Ecology Theory (MET)?

A) critical
B) positivistic/empirical
C) quantitative
D) interpretive/hermeneutic

Question 12

Media Ecology Theory, as proposed by McLuhan, has been criticized as being

A) overly optimistic
B) sublime
C) unfortunate and imposing
D) new and innovative

Question 13

All of the following are assumptions of Media Ecology Theory EXCEPT

A) Media infuse every act and action in society.
B) Media fix our perceptions and organize our experiences.
C) Media tie the world together.
D) Media cause more problems than they solve.

Question 14

Which communication traditions are most closely associated with MET?

A) socio-cultural and critical
B) phenomenological and semiotic
C) rhetorical and socio-psychological
D) cybernetic and critical

Question 15

In the electronic era, which sense is dominant?

A) visual
B) audio
C) touch
D) all of these

Question 16

The law of media that states media will - when pushed to their limit - produce or become something is called

A) obsolescence
B) reversal
C) retrieval
D) exaggeration

Question 17

McLuhan based much of his thinking on Aristotle's works.

Question 18

According to Innis, those in power get more power because of technology.

Question 19

McLuhan felt that the media was broad enough to include money.

Question 20

The prominent sense organ used during the print era, according to McLuhan, was hearing.

Question 21

The ratio of the senses refers to how people adapt to their environment through balancing their senses.

Question 22

Working with his son, McLuhan conceptualized the laws of media.

Question 23

The Internet is an example of enhancement, one of the laws of media.

Question 24

Meyrowitz agrees with McLuhan that electronic media have social consequences.

Question 25

Postman's work hypothesizes that technology negatively changes the fabric of society.

Question 26

In a succinct manner, differentiate between hot and cool media. Provide examples of each, explaining the utility of this differentiation when studying media.

Question 27

What might Media Ecology theorists say about social media such as Facebook and Twitter?

Question 28

Compare the principles and concepts of Media Ecology Theory to those of Cultivation Analysis. What similarities and differences exist between the two theories?

Question 29

Apply the tetrad to 21^st century technology. Present several technological innovations and how the laws of media apply.

Question 30

What is meant by the statement, "decentralization of authority is enhanced by the Internet"? Apply Media Ecology Theory thinking to your interpretations.

Question 31

Postman coined the word technopoly to refer to a society dominated by technology. What could be some positive and negative effects of a technopoly?

Question 32

Explain the major criticisms scholars have voiced in regards to Media Ecology Theory. Do you agree with these criticisms? Why or why not?

Question 33

Compare the principles and concepts of Media Ecology Theory to those of Cultural Studies theorists. What similarities and differences exist between the two theories?