McLuhan in his work ‘Media Hot and Cold’ distinguishes between the types of media that he categorizes into two categories: cold and hot. He states many differences such as the participation of the audience, the content and how it is delivered. McLuhan uses this distinction of hot&cold media to the different levels of the effects of the media. However, as technology develops, the digital age goes through a transformation where the two distinctions evolve to form a new medium; a medium that I would like to call: ‘Hold.’
Hill, in her article, talks about the concept of liveness and how it is part of the critical production elements in establishing a hot and/or cold medium. In her article, Hill talks about the effects of liveness and how the mediator uses it. Hill’s article can also be analyzed in the light of the integration of the two medium: hot&cold. The element of liveness and audience participation that hill talks about is a good perspective in evaluating how cold mediums that have limited participation use production and liveness to integrate the character of a hot medium. This integration can then be called, as previously stated, a Hold medium.
The two articles, although their focus is on the types of medium and the elements of production; can be close read and analyzed to evaluate a talk show where two medium cooperate in the production. As the host and the audience move between the two medium, the production transforms within its form to establish a new medium.
This Paper focuses on the famous reality TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! And how this TV show, within its format and content, integrates the principles of hot&cold medium and thereby applies to the newly formed medium: Hold. I will first analyze the format of the talk show and focus on how each segment is developed in a way that the medium falls under the Hold category. Next, I will study the airing, where I will focus on the effect of the use of the television form as a Hold medium to affect the audience.
“Any hot medium allows of less participation than a cool one” (McLuhan, 2). The talk show has various formats that change at times according to the events and even holidays. For example, close to the Christmas holidays, the show has a segment about Christmas holidays where Kimmel broadcasts videos gathered from the public under the title: I gave my Kids the worst Christmas present. Another holiday segment is the Halloween candy where once again videos of the public under the title: I told my Kids I ate their Halloween Candy are broadcasted. Sometimes Kimmel asks three ridiculous questions to celebrities, or shows the reading of mean tweets by celebrities, airs the pedestrian questions and the lie-witness videos. Many other segments can be enlisted; however, the primary format that does not change within the form of the TV show is the monologue and the interviews conducted with the guests. These two primary segments of the show demonstrate how a cold medium like a TV show uses the principle of providing information to the audience of a hot medium.
Jimmy Kimmel starts his show with a monologue delivered by himself as the host. There is no specific form of the monologue, which makes the opening of each show interesting. Sometimes he would announce an upcoming event- such as who would be hosting the Oscar awards show, or even a more personal event like the death of a relative. Usually, Kimmel would focus on trend events and comment on the interviews in other talk shows, where he would joke about the answers the guests give to the interesting questions directed by the host. Introduction and promotion of an upcoming movie, the announcement of an important event in a celebrity’s career and personal life, or the brief recap of an important event that happened the night before, like the Oscars. In all these different formats, Kimmel uses a humorous way in capturing the audience and delivering the information. If we are to evaluate this segment concerning the type of media, the TV show itself in its entirety is a cold medium; however, the way the monologue is conducted applies more to the characteristics of the hot medium, whereby the audience is given large amounts of information within a humorous context.
Another important segment of the format of the talk show is the interview with the guest- who are usually celebrities, political leaders, and other famous people. These interviews are short, where the host asks the guest questions about their everyday lives, about their upcoming movies, about the relationship they have with their friends and relatives and their reactions to trend events and breaking news. The interviews have the element of humor within their context, which amuses the audience and makes the show a talk show. In one of his shows, Kimmel hosted the former president Barack Obama, to whom Kimmel asked questions about the president’s everyday life in the White House. The questions were like whether the president needs to wake somebody up to make a sandwich for himself in the middle of the night, or how the president is woken up in the middle of the night when there is a breaking event. Questions such as these contribute to the rating of the show and give the audience information about the everyday lives of celebrities and famous figures, allowing the public to communicate and relate to the lives of people they see as ‘different’ from themselves. As a cold form of media, the TV show again uses the content element of the hot medium, in the sense that it provides large amounts of information without any gaps for the audience to fill in.
The other segments- 3 ridiculous question, lie-witness, pedestrian questions, YouTube challenge videos, unnecessary censorship, celebrities reading mean tweets- can also be analyzed concerning applying the hot medium qualities into a cold medium. These mediums are broadcasted for the audience to watch while the show is aired, after each airing, Kimmel comments on the videos with jokes. The relationship between the host and the audience is one that applies to the principles of a hot medium. The information provided by the videos is once again large. At the end of the 3-ridiculous questions segment, Kimmel promotes a type of alcohol brand, using the segment as an advertisement. In the celebrities reading mean tweets segment, the celebrities reveal their feelings about the mean tweets through speech and/or gestures. These forms of the segments show how the hot medium characteristics are integrated into a cold medium. Although the cold medium is one where the audience is given little information and left to fill in the gaps, and the hot medium is one where the audience is given large amounts of information. Jimmy Kimmel Live! uses the latter medium principle within the former medium’s context. In this sense, the TV show that is categorized as a cold medium can more correctly classify under the newly formed type of medium: Hold.
The airing of the talk show can be analyzed within two perspectives to demonstrate how it integrates a cold medium like the TV with the principles of a hot medium. The first point would be shot of the show, which carries the characteristics of a live shooting but is taped during the day. The second point is the participation of the audience, which is in the form of a hot medium under the umbrella of a cold medium.
Although the show is titled as Live! It is broadcasted through Hollywood every weekday late at night after it has been taped during the day. The element that makes the talk show seems like live performance is the participation of the audience and the performance of the host in terms of script. The host, Jimmy Kimmel, does not have a set of notecards or a screen from which he would read out the script, unlike other shows that are taped. As the shooting of the show continues, Kimmel does his monologue and the interviews and the comments on the segments of the show through an unscripted format. The show, when aired, shows the quality of a live show: improvisation. Kimmel is seen as though he is commenting impromptu about various events and news. The questions he asks his quests are not expected, the answers the guests give are not scripted. The reaction of the audience is not one that is instructed by the producer, since the audience changes every time. In a live show the audience would consist of people coming from different places, in a taped program the audience would be those who have made reservations to appear as an audience. The audience of Kimmel’s show is the latter one, in which people are not scheduled to appear but request to come and so change each time. In this sense, the show becomes a part of a live production. The performance of the host in a cold medium like TV makes the show a part of the hot medium, where the host delivers unscripted information.
“Live performances are powerful moments of participation. There is participation on several levels, such as sitting, standing, clapping, or going on stage. There is participation through thinking, feeling, looking, and listening.” (Hill, 482) In her article, Annetta Hill refers to the characteristic of audience participation within both the mediums- hot&cold. The reality Talk Show Jimmy Kimmel Live! is a good example of the integration of these two mediums through the use of audience participation quality. As Kimmel carries out the show within the context of the various segments, the audience would usually respond to the jokes and answers of the guests through clapping and whistling, thus participating in the live action of the show. Although this response is not entirely active participation, it is still participating in a wordless form. As Hill explains the different ways of audience participation in her article, the participation of the audience is important in the production and continuation of the show. The host and the audience work together in producing an effective, interesting and active show under a hot medium. In a cold medium like a TV show, the participation of the audience is limited, in a hot medium; however, the audience participates in various ways. In this sense, although Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as a reality TV show is a cold medium, it uses the characteristic of audience participation of a hot medium. As a result, the show that is categorized under the cold medium segment but uses the qualities of a hot medium integrates the two categories, thus belonging to the Hold category.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! in its entirety is a form of television that appeals to large audiences because of the way the show is programmed, scripted and the audience participation. The monologue, interviews and other segments, along with the unscripted dialogue and the participation of the audience all make up the design of the form of the show, which moves between the two types of medium- hot&cold-. As the show becomes part of both the mediums, we can thus classify it under a new category of a medium: Hold. The type of medium a production belongs to does not necessarily define the borders of that production. A TV show, a news program, a speech or even a cartoon, etc. etc. can be defined under a specific category of a medium; however, the designing of the form of this production can be used to form a new type of medium. This new type of medium would cooperate with the hot&cold medium elements in transforming and changing the established principles of the forms of television.
Bibliography
Hill, A. (2001) “The Audience is the Show” (151-166) in Paranormal Media: Audiences, Spirits and Magic’s in Popular Culture. London and New York: Routledge.Mcluhan, M. (1964). “Media Hot and Cold” (24-35) in Understanding Media (2001). New York: Routledge.