Reception theory

 Part 1) Applying Reception theory to adverts

Look back at the adverts you have been analysing in last week's lessons on Reading an Image and media codes (RBK 50 Cent and one of your choice).

1) What are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings for the RBK 50 Cent advert?

Preferred Reading 
The preferred reading for the RBK 50 Cent advert is that everyone can change who they are and that even people who came from a violent or gang related background like 50 Cent's did that even he can change. 
Negotiated Reading 
The negotiated reading of the RBK 50 Cent advert is in the anchorage text 50 Cent's says "Where I am from, there is no plan B. So, take advantage of today because tomorrow is not promised" which can have both positive and negative connotations as the producer could just be getting 50 Cent's to tell his own story of his life whereas the audience that are reading this text could be thinking that this anchorage text could be on about something to do with death or suicide.
Oppositional Reading

The oppositional reading of the RBK 50 Cent advert is that in the anchorage text all the o's of what 50 Cent says are all coloured in which could symbolise a more background story into him as it can connote the amount of times he has been shot but it could also give meanings of promoting gun violence as they could be talking about guns and gunshots. 

2) What are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings for the advert of your own choice that you analysed for last week's work?

Preferred Reading
The preferred reading for the smoking advert is that the producer is trying to get their audience to understand how bad smoking is for you and how dangerous it is to your body and that whoever smokes should stop or they could end up like the woman in the image.
Negotiated Reading

The negotiated reading for the smoking advert is that the producer is trying to get the audience to understand that smoking is bad but to the audience it could be perceived that all smoke that they see is bad.
Oppositional Reading  
The oppositional reading for the smoking advert could be that the audience could feel offended especially females if they see this advert as it's only targeted at one gender in the advert which is females and making them look like they smoke the most as there are no males in the advert. 
 

Remember to highlight or bold any media terminology you are using.

Part 2) Reception theory factsheet #218

Use our extremely useful A Level Media Factsheet archive to find Factsheet #218 Spotlight on Stuart Hall: Encoding, Decoding and Reception Theory. Read the factsheet and complete the following tasks and questions:

1) Complete Activity 1 on page 2 of the factsheet. Choose a media text you have enjoyed and apply the sender-message-channel-receiver model to the text. There is an example of how to do this in the factsheet (the freediving YouTube video).

2) What are the definitions of 'encoding' and 'decoding'?
Encoding means constructing a message using a shared code and language.
Decoding means someone that can read that message who shares that cultural understanding.  

3) Why did Stuart Hall criticise the sender-message-channel-receiver model?
 He didn’t believe that the ‘message’ had a fixed meaning, encoded by the sender to be passively accepted by the receiver, although he was certain that the senders of the message probably hoped it did.

4) What was Hall's circuit of communication model?
The different ‘moments’ in the process (Hall’s term for each aspect of the model, which he called a circuit of communication) could feed back into each other. They could work independently of one another in the construction of meaning and the uses audiences make of what they consume would therefore vary.

5) What does the factsheet say about Hall's Reception theory?
It tells us about media products that have complex signs and are polysemic which mans they have multiple means. His theory also talks about the meanings of Preferred, Negotiated and Oppositional Readings and what the meanings are.  

6) Look at the final page. How does it suggest Reception theory could be criticised?

Some people have pointed out that Hall’s model assumes that everyone is able to recognise the dominant or hegemonic reading. We don’t know for certain whether this is always the case.