...but we definitely react in some way, don't we?
The Encoders are those who produce the texts - in the case of a magazine this would involve:
- Editors
- Journalists
- Photographers
- Designers
Some media texts promote certain ideologies overtly - for example a newspaper will often make its political affiliations fairly obvious.
Other texts will be more subtle and ideologies may be more subtly encoded, for example many 1950s science fiction films whereby alien invaders routinely tried to take over the USA were often a metaphor for America's struggle in the Cold War and the threat of Communism.
Whether it's political or not all texts will have ideologies encoded into them.
Let's have a look at some of the Ideologies which we can read from the Marie Claire magazine above...
- Looks and appearance are important
- Other people's of you are important
- Feeling good about yourself and having self confidence is important
- Strong independent women should be celebrated - women hold positions of authority and influence
- Emotions and feelings should be discussed and reflected upon
- Celebrities are people too - with feelings and vulnerabilities
- Women need guidance to help them make the right choices
- Women are maternal
- A fashionable look is important but people (children) shouldn't be harmed in attaining this look
- Materialism
See if you can find the coverlines and images which relate to the aforementioned ideologies.
This does not necessarily mean that an audience will accept and agree with these ideologies...
...read the two slides below to see what Stuart Hall says about this...
This does not necessarily mean that an audience will accept and agree with these ideologies...
...read the two slides below to see what Stuart Hall says about this...
There are a few important things to remember about the three different positions that we can take.
Preferred Reading
Is not just about 'liking' a text - you must understand what the purpose of a text is and agree with its ideologies and the messages it carries.
Oppositional Reading
Is not just 'disliking' a text - there are many reasons why someone may take an oppositional reading - but whatever these reasons are, the audience member must understand what the intentions of the text are, but reject them.
Negotiated Reading
Can be the case whereby an audience member agrees with some ideologies and not others, but it can also be the case where the audience doesn't fully understand the intentions of the text - or is confused about the purpose of the text.
Look at the list of ideologies discussed above - this is the preferred reading of the magazine. But of course there are reasons why people might take an Oppositional Reading, which might include...
- Rejecting materialism
- Believing that there are more important things in life than appearance
- Believing that having fashionable clothes is more important than knowing where the clothes come from
- It doesn't matter what others think of you so long as you are happy with yourself
Some audience members may accept and agree with the ideologies - but still only take a Negotiated Reading of the text because of the choice of Angelina Jolie as representing these ideologies.
Some find her to be overrated, overexposed or even as a traitor to other women for stealing Brad Pitt's husband! This dislike of Jolie wouldn't change their mind about the ideologies of how to live your life or what should be considered important to women.
Responses to texts can be analysed to see whether an audience have taken a Preferred, Oppositional or Negotiated response...
Watch the opening few scenes of the film and then read the responses from various forums and review websites - decide what position the audience member has taken…
As should be obvious from the responses given - the strengths of the Encoding/Decoding model is not only does it realise the audience as actively engaging with a media text but it also acknowledges the importance of an audience member's personality and cultural background, even if the text has been completely misunderstood!
In the exam you may have to discuss how and why an audience may take different positions - your job is to know how to apply this theory to your own experience of the media, or even a text provided by the exam board.
Watch as much of this clip of Hollyoaks as you can tolerate and then read the two slides below to see how the Encoding/Decoding model can be applied…
