This document discusses theories of active audiences in relation to interpreting media texts. It covers theorists such as Stuart Hall who argued that audiences interpret media based on their own cultural backgrounds and values, which can lead to dominant, negotiated, or oppositional readings. John Fiske rejected the idea that audiences are passive, noting meanings can be polysemic. The document also discusses uses and gratifications theory, which posits that audiences use media to fulfill needs like escapism, social interaction and entertainment. Finally, it addresses David Gauntlett's work on role models and how media constructs them to influence audiences.

1. Audience

2. Starter Activity
Who is the target audience for your music
video? (how would you classify them?)
Brainstorm on A3 Paper
 Gender
 Age range
 Ethnicity
 UK Tribes Category
 Social Economic Class
How did you try to
appeal to your target
audience in your
video?

3. The Big Audience Debate
 Passive Audience Vs Active Audience

4. Active Audience Theories
 Theories that support the idea of
audiences being active.

5. John Fiske (1997) Semiotic
Democracy
 Fiske rejects that audiences
are ‘cultural dopes’ and passive
 Also rejects the idea that any
one text conveys the same
message to all people.
 Audiences are required to
analyse texts in order to
expose their meaning and
these meanings are often
POLYSEMIC (more than one)

6. Stuart Hall
 Looked at the role of
audience positioning in
the interpretation of
mass media texts by
different social groups.
 People react to a media
text in different ways
which can be
determined by their
cultural
background/values and
ideologies.

7. Reception Theory Stuart Hall –
(1993)
Stuart Hall described three main ways spectators
tend to
respond to the way they are positioned:
1. A dominant (preferred) reading
2. A negotiated reading
3. An oppositional reading

8. Encoding and Decoding
 Dominant Reading: audience fully accepts the
preferred reading so that the code seems
natural. The preferred reading is often one that
reinforces dominant ideologies.
 Negotiated Reading: audience largely believes
the code and broadly accepts the preferred
reading, but sometimes modifies it in a way
which reflects their own position, experience, and
interests.
 Oppositional Reading: audiences’ social
position places them in oppositional relation to
the dominant code. They reject the reading.

9. Uses and Gratification Theory -
Denis McQuail (2000)
 The basic theme is the idea that people
use the media to get specific gratifications
 People are not helpless victims of the
powerful media, but use media to fulfil
their various needs

10. Denis Mcquail (2000)
 Escapism
 Social Interaction
 Identification
 Inform and Educate
 Entertainment

11. David Gauntlett (2008)– Role
Models
 A ‘role model’ seems to be popularly
understood as ‘someone to
 look up to,’ and someone to base your
character, values or aspirations upon:

12. Six Types of Role Models
 The ‘straightforward success’ role model
 The ‘triumph over difficult circumstances’
role model
 The ‘challenging stereotypes’ role model
 The ‘wholesome’ role model
 The ‘outsider’ role model
 The family role model:

13. Apply theories of Audience to ONE
of your media productions
1. Who was your target audience?
2. What was the dominant (preferred
reading)? How did you position your
audience to get the dominant reading? (did
you promote any dominant ideologies?)
3. How might people from other groups view
your representations?
4. What uses and gratifications might the
audience get from your video?
5. How did you construct your artists as role
models and how should the audience
respond to them?

14. Key Terms
 Dominant Ideology
 Passive Audience
 Active Audience
 Dominant Reading/Negotiated
Reading/Oppositional Reading
 Role Models
 Polysemic (more than one meaning)
 Target audience

15. Refer to at least two theorists…
 Stuart Hall: Reception theory
 John Fiske: Semiotic Subversion
 Blumler & Katz:Uses & Gratifications
model
 David Gauntlett: Role Models