When I read the blog post Hot and Cool Media by Marshall McLuhan, I tried to apply the terms covered in it in terms of Things Fall Apart.
The term 'hot medium' refers to something that "Gives a lot of information and gives little to do" while a 'cool medium' is something that "Gives a little information and makes the user work to fill in what is missing." The article states that the amount of information involved is not in the facts and knowledge we're getting but "how our physical senses respond to, or participate in, media." It goes on to give a list of different types of media and what category they fall under. Mcluhan states that radio, print, photographs, paintings, movies and lectures are hot, while telephone, speech, cartoons, mosaics, television and seminars are cool. I think that generally, these categorizations are often correct, but I don't think that they're the be-all end-all/set in stone. I think there are always exceptions.
When I think of the content in Things Fall Apart, I'm not inclined to immediately lump it into the category of hot media. I would likely do that with a book like Orality and Literature, because it reads more like a textbook. It is giving the reader direct information/terminology regarding oral and literate culture. But with Things Fall Apart, the reader has to look below the surface for these kinds of lessons. For example, the book doesn't explicitly say "The role women and men play in this society is vastly different." Rather, the book shows it by outlining parts of the characters' daily routines, like each wife making Onkonkwe a separate meal for dinner, or discussing scenarios where his wives are clearly scared of him and acting very subservient. Or instead of saying "language and a mastery of speech is important in this culture", the book shows it by it's constant use in ceremonies or important exchanges between people.
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