Stuart Hall was the head of the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies during the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the terms "encoding" and "decoding", where encoding refers to the values and assumptions producers inscribe into texts, and decoding refers to how consumers translate values from texts based on their individual backgrounds and experiences. The Reception Theory, which Hall contributed to, focuses on how audiences actively interpret texts based on their cultural knowledge rather than passively accepting messages. Hall's encoding/decoding model showed that audiences do not passively receive media but can understand messages in dominant, negotiated, or oppositional ways.

1. Stuart Hall and Cultural
Studies
Kate Bradford

2. Who was Stuart Hall and
what did he do?
Stuart Hall who was the head of
Birmingham School of Cultural
Studies during the 1960s and
1970s. Hall coined the
terms decoding and encoding.
Encoding means values and
assumption inscribed into texts
by producers. Decoding means
the value translated from the
texts by its consumers.

3. What is the Reception
Theory?
The Reception Theory focuses on the
textual analysis, of a film for example, for
'negotiation' and 'opposition' on the part of
the audience; meaning that a text, such as a
book, film, advert, poster or other creative
work, is not passively accepted by the
audience but that the reader/viewer
interprets the value of texts judging on
their individual cultural background and
life experiences.

4. What does encoding and
decoding mean?
Stuart Hall's encoding and decoding model (explaining the dominant,
negotiated and oppositional readings) shows why Hall says he studies
culture instead of the media and media hegemony. Therefore audiences are
no longer considered passive recipients of texts in turn flouting and
disagreeing with the theories of Theodore Adorno and Stan Cohen who
present audiences as easily influenced that are gullible to the influence of
texts.