--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a cool medium, the audience is an…" description: "\"In a cool medium, the audience is an active constituent of the viewing or listening experience. A girl wearing open-mesh silk stockings or glasses is i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/marshall-mcluhan-641_active_in-a-cool-medium-the-audience-is-an-acti_962261.jpg" --- # In a cool medium, the audience is an active constituent of… ![“In a cool medium, the audience is an active constituent of the viewing or listening experience. A girl wearing open-mesh silk stockings or glasses is inherently cool and sensual because the eye acts as a surrogate hand in filling in the low-definition image thus engendered. Which is why boys make…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/marshall-mcluhan-641_active_in-a-cool-medium-the-audience-is-an-acti_962261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/marshall-mcluhan-641_active_in-a-cool-medium-the-audience-is-an-acti_962261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/marshall-mcluhan-641_active_in-a-cool-medium-the-audience-is-an-acti_962261.jpg) > “In a cool medium, the audience is an active constituent of the viewing or listening experience. A girl wearing open-mesh silk stockings or glasses is inherently cool and sensual because the eye acts as a surrogate hand in filling in the low-definition image thus engendered. Which is why boys make passes at girls who wear glasses.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Media audiences actively shape perception; visual cues like glasses become symbols that guide interpretation and attraction. **In simple terms:** Viewers help construct meaning through visual symbols. Key Takeaway Recognize how visual details influence audience perception. Themes media perception symbolism Mood analytic curious Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - advertising design - film casting - fashion marketing - user interface design Key Concepts semiotics visual culture audience interaction Questions to Reflect On - What visual symbols affect your perception today? - How do cultural contexts change symbol meanings? A Different Perspective Symbolic meanings can vary across cultures, limiting universal conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Cool Medium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cool-medium-1788297/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Filling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filling/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses/) [Glasses Inherently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses-inherently-1788299/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Mesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mesh/) [Sensual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensual/) [Stockings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stockings/) [Stockings Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stockings-glasses-1788296/) [Wear Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wear-glasses-543101/) [Wearing Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wearing-open-1788298/) ## Related quotes > [When you're 5 ft. 5 in., have a round Jewish face and wear glasses and refuse to wear contacts, you're going to get offered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moranis/when-you-re-5-ft-5-in-have-a-round-jewish-face-and-wear-glasses-and/) [Rick Moranis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moranis/) > [“I look at the sun all the time and have no eye issues, other than those associated with aging. I wear glasses for reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-look-at-the-sun-all-the-time-and-have-no-eye-issues-other-than/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I'm tall, fat, rather bald, red-faced, double-chinned, black-haired, have a deep voice, and wear glasses for reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-m-tall-fat-rather-bald-red-faced-double-chinned-black-haired-have-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“She had an ethereal, dreamy personality that was typified by her adamant refusal to wear her glasses despite terrible nearsightedness. I once asked her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/she-had-an-ethereal-dreamy-personality-that-was-typified-by-her/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [I've had laser eye surgery and I don't wear glasses any more, so people just go, 'You're not Damien Hirst.' I don't get recognized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-ve-had-laser-eye-surgery-and-i-don-t-wear-glasses-any-more-so/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [I will say that I do gravitate more towards quirkier guys. I always date guys who wear glasses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-rose-reed/i-will-say-that-i-do-gravitate-more-towards-quirkier-guys-i-always/) [Jillian Rose Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-rose-reed/) > [School is not a great place to have feminine features or a big nose, or to wear glasses or the wrong shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/school-is-not-a-great-place-to-have-feminine-features-or-a-big-nose/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I actlly wear glasses because I need them to see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-actlly-wear-glasses-because-i-need-them-to-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wear glasses. That's how you'll know me. I am the speccy one… And I am proud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-proops/i-wear-glasses-that-s-how-you-ll-know-me-i-am-the-speccy-one-and-i-am/) [Greg Proops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-proops/) > [It seems like suffering's the only time we can see what's essential. If peace ever comes back I'm making a vow: I'll design myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/it-seems-like-suffering-s-the-only-time-we-can-see-what-s-essential/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [I can't see. I used to wear glasses off stage. Now I'm thinking of getting a pair of contract lenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolin/i-can-t-see-i-used-to-wear-glasses-off-stage-now-i-m-thinking-of/) [Tommy Bolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolin/) > [I see wrinkles and lines, and wear glasses to read, which I hate. But I am in a better place in my body than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-langford/i-see-wrinkles-and-lines-and-wear-glasses-to-read-which-i-hate-but-i/) [Bonnie Langford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-langford/) > [People who wear glasses, without them they always look unfocused, vulnerable. Out in the open. A layer removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/people-who-wear-glasses-without-them-they-always-look-unfocused/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [Ever since I was in school I was squinting a lot, not being able to see things as well as I should have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mctominay/ever-since-i-was-in-school-i-was-squinting-a-lot-not-being-able-to/) [Scott McTominay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mctominay/) > [I actually have eyes that irritate easily, so I wear the glasses to keep stuff out of my eyes. If you see me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/i-actually-have-eyes-that-irritate-easily-so-i-wear-the-glasses-to/) [Rza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) [Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a cool medium, the audience is an active constituent of the viewing or listening experience. A girl wearing open-mesh silk stockings or glasses is inherently cool and sensual because the eye acts as a surrogate hand in filling in the low-definition image thus engendered. 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