The document discusses different theories of audience reception, including the effects model which argues media has negative influence over passive audiences, and the uses and gratifications model which argues audiences actively use media for their own gratification. It focuses on audience reception theory developed by Stuart Hall, which proposes that media producers encode meanings in texts, while audiences can decode them in three ways: dominant/preferred if they agree with the producer's meaning, negotiated if they refine elements based on prior views, or oppositional if they recognize but reject the dominant meaning.
2. The effects model
The effects model
This is the idea that the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence
upon the audience. As well as the fact that it is normally considered that this effect
is negative and the audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence.
The power lies with the message of the text. This model is also known as the
hypodermic model.
3. The uses and gratifications model
The uses and gratifications model
The uses and gratifications model is the opposite of the effects model. The
audience is active and the audience uses the text and is not used by it. the
audience uses the text for its own gratification or pleasure.
However we are going to be focusing on the audience reception theory.
This is also known as reception analysis. It is the way of characterising the wave of
audience research which occurred within communications and cultural studies
during the 1980's and the 1990's.
4. The audience theory
There are three theories of audience that can be applied to help us understand the
relationship between texts and audience. These are;
1. The effects model or the hypodermic model
2. The uses and gratifications model
3.Reception Theory
5. Audience Reception Theory
Given the effects model and the uses and gratifications have their problems and
limitations. The audience reception was developed by Stuart Hall at Birmingham
University in 1970's.
This considered how texts were encoded with meaning by producers and the decoded
and understood by audiences.
The theory suggests that when a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning
or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. In some instances
audiences will correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the
producer means, In some instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly
understand the message.
6. The audience reception theory
Stuart Hall identified three types of audience readings
1. dominant or preferred
2. negotiated
3. oppositional
7. The audience reception theory
A dominant reading is where the audience decodes the message as the producer
wants them to do and broadly agrees with it. e.g. watching a speech and agreeing
with it.
A negotiated reading is where the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of
the text in a light of previously held views. e.g. neither agreeing or disagreeing
with the political speech or being disinterested.
An oppositional reading is where the dominant meaning is recognised but
rejected for cultural, political or ideological reasons. e.g. total rejection of the
political speech and active opposition.
