Revising the encoding/decoding model
Reception theory is often attributed to Stuart Hall. It argues that producers use media language to encode meanings within media products, which audiences can then decode and negotiate in a variety of different ways.
Audiences may agree with the preferred reading of the product, in other words they will agree with the ideology of the producer. The audience also may disagree with the producer's ideology and form an oppositional reading of the product. It is most likely, however, that the audience will negotiate the message of the producer, and will agree with certain ideological aspects while rejecting others.
Reception theory is exciting, as it suggests that audiences have agency and can make their own decisions based on their own life experiences. Therefore reception theory is an active audience theory, and is a world away from passive audience theories like Bandura's effects model and Gerbner's cultivation theory. Maybe audiences are not mindless zombies after all!
Task - watch this video on reception theory, making detailed notes and definitions of the following:
- Encoding
- Decoding
- The ideological perspective of the producer
- Preferred reading
- Oppositional reading
- Negotiated reading
- Issues with reception theory
Negotiating the Assassin's Creed franchise
So the producer will encode meaning, and the audience will decode it in lots of different ways. It might be the opposite of what the producer intended... but is this OK?
Task - watch some gameplay footage or play an Assassin's Creed game and answer the following questions
Again, if you can't be bothered to go digging, you can just check out this video of the last game being played from start to finish. But don't watch it all. That would be silly.
- What is the ideological perspective of Ubisoft? What messages are they demonstrating to their audience? Hints: think.... violence...history...narrative....interactivity...
- What is the preferred reading? How do you know?
- What is the oppositional reading? How do you know?
- In what ways can audiences negotiate the ideology of this game?
- How can audiences use this game in ways that Ubisoft may have not intended?
- Is this gameplay video a negotiated reading? Why?