Reception theory: blog tasks

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

Preferred Reading: The audience views 50 Cent as a successful figure who has overcome hardship, with the Reebok brand associating itself with resilience, toughness, and triumph over adversity.

Negotiated Reading: The audience might admire 50 Cent’s success but could feel disconnected from the idea of associating a brand like Reebok with street credibility or overcoming extreme adversity. They may see it as commercializing his story.

Oppositional Reading: The audience could reject the advert, viewing it as an inappropriate glorification of violence or gang culture, or as exploiting 50 Cent’s background for profit without addressing deeper societal issues.

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 Coca-Cola ad promotes a wholesome, refreshing image. The smiling woman holding a tennis racket suggests that Coca-Cola is perfect for enjoying after engaging in recreational sports, reinforcing its status as a beverage that brings joy and refreshment in social, active settings.

Negotiated Reading: While some viewers might accept the message that Coca-Cola is enjoyable after leisure activities, they could feel less inclined to view it as a wholesome drink due to its high sugar content. They may agree that Coca-Cola can be a treat but not necessarily healthy or ideal for sports.

Oppositional Reading: The audience may reject the ad entirely, criticizing it for promoting a sugary, unhealthy beverage, especially after athletic activities. They could also view the ad as a dated, overly idealized depiction of gender roles or leisure activities, which doesn’t resonate with modern ideologies. 

3)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). 

Harry Potter series as an example--

Sender: J.K. Rowling, the author.

Message: Themes of friendship, bravery, and the battle between good and evil.

Channel: The books themselves, later adapted into movies, audiobooks, and video games.

Receiver: The readers, who decode these themes differently based on their personal experiences                                          whether they see it as a story of friendship, or even a coming-of-age journey.

2) What are the definitions of 'encoding' and 'decoding'?

 Encoding refers to the process of creating a message using a common code and language. 

 Decoding involves receiving that message and interpreting its meaning. 

3) Why did Stuart Hall criticise the sender-message-channel-receiver model?

Hall took issue with the SMCR model for being too simplistic, arguing that it presents communication as a one-way street where a message is just sent from the sender to the receiver. He felt this view misses the rich, interactive nature of real conversations, where feedback and context play crucial roles in shaping meaning. According to Hall, communication is much more about connection and exchange than a simple transmission of information.

4) What was Hall's circuit of communication model?

Hall introduced the concept that communication is not a linear process but rather a circular one that involves production, circulation, interpretation (or decoding), and reproduction. In this cycle, meaning can shift, as the audience may interpret the message in ways that differ from the producer's original intention. This highlights the dynamic nature of communication, where understanding evolves based on context and individual perspectives.

5) What does the factsheet say about Hall's Reception theory?

Reception theory posits that audiences do not simply passively consume media; instead, they actively interpret it through the lens of their cultural backgrounds, social experiences, and personal perspectives. Hall proposed that any media text can be understood in three ways: the preferred (or dominant) reading, which aligns with the creator's intended message/ the negotiated reading, where the audience accepts some aspects while resisting others/ and the oppositional reading, which rejects the intended meaning altogether. This framework underscores the complex and varied ways people engage with media.

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

Reception theory has faced criticism for possibly overestimating how freely audiences interpret media while downplaying the strong influence that media can have on shaping people’s views. While individual experiences do play a role in how we make sense of messages, the media still has a powerful impact on our perceptions and beliefs. This means that even though we engage actively with what we see and hear, we’re also influenced by the broader media landscape that helps shape our understanding of the world.