And that's how I'll introduce this week's artifact: the Trim napkin holder. It's strange but it really is a form of media. Babson and many different organizations often use these napkin holders to relay a message to students who are casually dining in everyone's favorite food venue on campus. The accompanying picture shows an example of this. Media are everywhere and most of them probably go unnoticed by most people. Even more importantly for our class' discussion of media and what media is, most people probably even more rarely realize that what they're viewing is media. Something similar to a napkin holder, in my opinion, is the side of a bus. No one would normally think of a bus as media. But so often public transportation has advertisements on it which turn a regular vehicle into a medium.
Which brings me back to my example of the napkin holder. Normally a napkin holder would not be media. It would be virtually purely functional and deliver no message to anyone. However, Babson and other organizations that target us through our napkin holders use the fact that everyone grabs a napkin once in a while to their advantage and turns a ubiquitous object into an advertising tool, and thus, a medium for influencing us. When you think about it, it's really a very interesting use of a boring object. Excellent creation of a medium, if you ask me!
I agree with you and this summer vacation i realized the same thing. When I was in Mexico I noticed that the vertical side of the sidewalk facing the street had advertisements. At first i though that drivers would not see the propaganda. But after driving I saw how a sidewalk can be a type of media.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job finding a unique artifact. I agree with your points, media dominates our society to the point where we hardly even realize there are messages being transmitted to us. Everything from napkin holders to billboards send us messages that we take in without even thinking twice about.
ReplyDeleteI'm obsessed with this post. I totally agree with your assertion that the trim napkin holder is a medium. It's interesting how much we look at those napkin holders and don't even realize it. I also think it's interesting that without Ugrad emails, organizations are finding more creative, innovative ways to market their events. Exhibit A, the trim napkin holder. The TV screens also send subliminal medium messages into our minds.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting media artifact--I have to agree with you! Advertising is all around us, sneaking messages into our unconscious when we're unaware. I'm glad to see how reading McLuhan calls our critical attention to the pervasive advertising media around us!
ReplyDeleteIt would be even nicer to see your commentary on this medium--do you like to be struck by messages everywhere you go? How does the napkin box serve the community interest? Or the interest of the Sodexo company? Would you like to see messages written everywhere in the Trim Hall, like on the plates, tables, chairs? How would that feel like? Bringing in your personal judgment will add significantly more essence to this essay.
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