HOT & COOL MEDIA

Marshall McLuhan is well known for his theories about “hot and cool media”. In his 1964 book, “Understanding Media”, McLuhan proposed that different media invite different degrees of participation from the person who chooses to consume a media.

Hot media are low in audience participation due to their high resolution or definition. Cool media are high in audience participation due to their low definition (the receiver must fill in the missing information).

From Wikipedia:

Hot media are generally, but not absolutely, visual media; for example, print occupies visual space and is "hot". Hot media favor analytical precision, quantitative analysis and sequential ordering, as they are usually sequential, linear and logical. They emphasize one sense (for example, of sight or sound) over the others. For this reason, hot media also include radio, as well as film, lecture and photograph.

Cool media are usually, but not always, associated with the sense of hearing. They require more active participation on the part of the user, including the perception of abstract patterning and simultaneous comprehension of all parts. Cool media, according to McLuhan, therefore include television, as well as the seminar and cartoons.

This concept appears to force media into binary categories. However, McLuhan's "hot" and "cool" exist on a continuum: they are more correctly measured on a scale than using dichotomous terms.

 

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