Reception Theory

Today we have researched theories with the group and below are the notes I made on reception theory...

 

Reception theory

·         Developed by Stuart Hall – Birmingham University 1970’s

·         Considered how texts were encoded (put small messages in for audience to understand) with meaning by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences

·         Reception theory – about how we decode these videos (different opinions)

·         When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience

·         Sometimes – audiences will correctly decode the message and understand what the producer was trying to say

·         Some instances – audience will reject or fail to correctly decode (understand) the message

·         3 different ways: -

-       Dominant or preferred

-       Negotiated

-       Oppositional

1). Dominant –

·         where the audience decodes the message as the producer wants them to and agrees with it

·         E.g. watching a political speech and agreeing with it

2). Negotiated –

·         Audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of previous views

·         E.g. neither agreeing or disagreeing with the political speech or being disinterested

3). Oppositional –

·         Where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural, political, or ideological reasons

·         E.g. total rejection of the political speech and active opposition