Encoding Decoding Theory free essay sample

In the 1980’s, new audience theories saw the onset of ‘active audience’ theories, which came out of the Centre for Contemporary Critical Studies at the University of Birmingham, England. One of the major stimuli for the development of the active audience theory was British sociologist Stuart Hall’s well-known encoding/decoding model, which revolutionised the way in which audiences were regarded. Halls model highlights that although media messages are embedded with a ‘preferred reading’, audience interpretations of these texts is dependent upon the individual’s assumptions and social context. As such, this model prompted shifts towards qualitive studies of audiences thereafter. Stuart Halls seminal paper: Encoding/Decoding (1980), arose primarily from Halls reservation about the theories of communication underpinning mass communications research. Mass communications research became prevalent after the Second World War and was funded by commercial bodies wanting to know how to influence audiences more effectively through advertising. It worked on the assumption that the ‘media offered an unproblematic, benign reflection of society’. We will write a custom essay sample on Encoding Decoding Theory or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page According to the mass communications model, the sender (mass media) generates a message with fixed meaning, which is then communicated directly and transparently to the recipient (audience). Halls paper challenged all three components of the mass communications model arguing that – (i) the message is never transparent to audience (ii) meaning is not simply fixed or determined by sender; and (iii) the audience is not a passive recipient of meaning. Halls encoding/decoding theory, focus’s on the different ways audiences, generate, rather than discover meaning. Halls theory encompasses a number of what Hall terms as ‘moments’ (such as circulation/distribution) but is primarily concerned with the points of production/encoding and consumption/decoding. The linearity of traditional models ie – mass communication model, is replaced by a ‘circuit’. In the circuit the sender becomes the ‘producer’ and the receiver becomes the ‘consumer’. In the past, the ‘receiver’ was seen to have passive connotations leading to the conclusion of the communication process, however Halls theory sees consumption as an active process that can reproduce the original meaning that was sent. Consumption determines production just as production determines consumption’. According to Hall, encoding is a crucial moment of entry constructed by ‘material context of production of which it occurs’. Thus, Halls encoding/decoding theory is an ‘articulated model’ of communica tion, in which the audiences understanding of the message is not guaranteed at a particular moment of the circuit. In addition to the difficulty in identifying a particular moment of understanding by the audience during the communication process, is the difficulty of understanding the ‘preferred’ reading intended for the audience by the producers. According to Hall, ‘ideology of text is not guaranteed’ (Hall,1980) however the text is certainly not free of encoded structures. ‘Texts will always be inscribed with a particular social relations who produced them’ (Hall, 1980). According to Hall, texts establish a ‘dominant cultural order’ (Hall, 1980), which imposes a ‘taken for granted’ knowledge of social structures’. (Hall, 1980) The understanding of the text by the audience is known as the ‘decoding’ stage. In order for the encoded message to formulate overall meaning and have an influence on the audience, the viewer must decode it. Although media producers ‘encode’ certain meanings into media texts, the audiences ‘decode’ meanings in accordance with their own opinions, identity, and cultural knowledge. Thus, media texts are ‘polysemic’ and can be read in a number of ways. Furthermore, Hall stresses that although texts can be understood in different ways, an unlimited number of interpretations should not be assumed. Hall suggested that there are three kinds of hypothetical, ‘hegemonic’ decoding positions for the reader of a text: dominant, negotiated and oppositional. The first decoding position is the dominant or ‘hegemonic’ reading, when the audience decodes the message in the same position within which it was encoded. The audience fully accepts and reproduces its ‘preferred reading’, which could easily be a subconscious intention on the producers part. The second position is the negotiated position. In this position the audience might accept the hegemonic viewpoint on a general level, however its meaning may be manipulated by audiences beliefs or behaviour. It is a position mixed with ‘adaptive and oppositional’ elements. The third position is the oppositional position. In this position the audience decodes message in a ‘globally contrary way’ due to identity, opinion or social situation. The audience understands the preferred reading however does not share the texts code and rather rejects this reading by substituting the text with alternative structure of reference. The three positions outlined should be understood as part of a continuum across which the audience moves, rather than separates. Once an audience takes up a position this does not mean that they reject the other positions permanently. These positions are flexible and audience views are adaptable. The positions of the audience in Halls encoding/decoding theory were pointed out by him to be hypothetical and not intended ‘as prescriptive templates for studios of actual audiences. ’ Hall established these positions to be tested and refined in a continuing process to understand audience interpretation and theories surrounding ‘active audience’. Word: 940