week4

=Do you agree with McLuhan when he states comics are an extension of photographic media? Why or why not?=

In Marshall McLuhan’s book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan devoted an entire chapter to the notion of comics, stating that comics are an extension to photographic media, “a world of inclusive gesture and dramatic posture” (Leshinski). I agree with McLuhan’s view on comics being a part of photograph, mainly because of the similar characteristics instilled within the two medium. Photography consists of images that are depicted to the audience, allowing them to visualize the situation and what the subject and theme is that surrounds what they are looking at. It contains minimal, if any, words or text within the image that strengthens the impact of how the photograph looks like. Quite similarly, comics comprise of an immense variety of images, art, and illustration that are visual treats to the viewers. They contain minimal speech and dialogue that surrounds a story held together by the illustrations, sort of like an add-on to the main subject. Throughout McLuhan’s work, the laws of media were created to question new technologies and media. These questions transform into what he called the tetrad to show the evolution or extension of our ever-change world. In terms of comics, the laws of media and McLuhan’s tetrad would be:

Enhancement (figure): What the medium amplifies or intensifies. - Comics amplify photography and print via story and visuals. Obsolescence (ground): What the medium drives out of prominence. - Comics reduce the importance of music and sound. Retrieval (figure): What the medium recovers which was previously lost. - Comics returns the visual storyline to the forefront. Reversal (ground): What the medium does when pushed to its limits. - Comics spread into different genres like manga and graphic novels, creating fan-crazed conventions and obsessions.

Comics usually provide very little information about time in general, perhaps even showing alternate universes to gauge the viewers’ interests. The viewer is determined to interpret these images and words into their own and figure out the storyline of the images that is shown, much like the way photographic media provides still images that seduces the viewer into grasping and completing the ideas and storylines within.

Works Cited

Leshinski, Guy. "MCLUHAN'S COOL COMICS." The Cultural Gutter. 28 Sept. 2005. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. . McLuhan, Marshall. "Marshall McLuhan - Recognizing the Pattern in the Laws of Media." YouTube. 25 Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. . Valdez, Norman. "McLuhan on Comics." Lecture. 8 Oct. 2009. Print.