reception theory

Reception theory (Stuart Hall 1990) -Audience repsonse   
Reception thoery states that the media is encoded by the producer -filled with values and messages However, this is then decoded by the spectators and often in different ways from the way the producer intended them too. Stuart Hall identified 3 types of audience decoding:


1.Dominant or Preferred - How the producer wants the audience to view the media e.g watching a political speech and agreeing with it. E.G  An audience member might take this reading because, they have clear messaging, the audience member is the same age/ culture, relevant to modern society, easy to follow narrative, deals with relevant themes or they like the chosen genre.

  

2. Oppositional- when the audience rejects the preferred reading and creates their own meaning for the text e.g total rejection of a political speech. E.G  An audience member might take this reading because, the audience member likes the chosen genre, is of the same age as you and understands some of the messages, but the narrative is complex and this inhibits a full understanding

3.Negotiated - a compromise between the oppostional and dominant readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producer's views but keeps a few of their own views too e.g neither disagreeing or agreeing on a debate or being disinterested.  E.G An audience member might take this reading because, the video has difficult themes, may disagree with the message, dislike the chosen genre, it has a complex narrative, doesn't deal with modern day themes, audience member may have different beliefs, or a different age group.


Lots of factors could influence what reading we take:
-life experience
-mood at the time of viewing
 -age
-culture
-beliefs
-gender