Applying McLuhan’s tetradic framework to the effects of 9/11 on US media reports and depictions of Muslims

Abstract

This article applies McLuhan’s tetradic framework to the impact of 9/11 on US media reports and portrayals of Muslims. The tetradic framework posits that transformations in media and world life happen through four fundamental steps. All forms of media (1) intensify specific aspects of media culture while, simultaneously, (2) making other characteristics of media culture obsolete. At some point, people tend to (3) discover new things about aspects in media culture that were ignored in the past (i.e. which obsolete aspects of culture do media retrieve?). Finally, (4) with this rise in information-seeking and discovery, media culture is experiencing continuous modification. Stated differently, the media go through a reversal when pushed too far or extended beyond the limits of their capacity. Overall, this analysis is able to inform readers on the full complexity of the long-term development of people’s perceptions of Muslims as a result of the constant metamorphosis of the media.