Reception Theory suggests that we interpret information from media based on how it is encoded by producers and how we personally decode and make meaning from the messages. The theory has two parts: how producers encode messages into their products and how audiences actively decode meanings without messages being explicitly stated. Critics argue it does not fully consider the influence of social and cultural factors on how audiences receive and understand media.

1. Theory: Reception Theory
Theorists:
What is the theory?
The theory suggests the ways in which we receive and interpret the
information form the media which we consume.
The theory has two parts to it, the first part is concerning how the
producer gets across the message of the product.
The encoding part is where the producer fills a product with a message
that they want to send to people. Newspapers are a good example of
this as they encode their ideas to the paper in their articles and their
headlines. Decoding is where the audience can read the message that
the producer is giving them without having it explicitly told to them. A
good example of decoding is in song lyrics, where an artist can write a
line and its up to the audience to figure out what it means.
The second part of the reception theory is about how the audience
understands the information given to them.
Does this theory see the audience as active or passive? Why do you
think this?
What are the criticisms of this theory?
Apply the theory: