‘There is a range of possible responses to any media text.’ Discuss this statement with reference
to your three main texts
PLAN - write on answer paper!!!
Reception theory
Binary oppositions
Cultivation
MANIPULATION OF AUDIENCE!
Dominant ideology
Uses and grats
Encoding
Hegemony
Walrus mother - sympathy, appeals to mothers
Jezza Kyle - beheaded brother - real event treated as comedy, manipulative!
Opening interrogation - confusion, sexual gratification, transgression
Every introduction needs... CAD
Argument - For every media product, there are a variety of different possible audience responses. This is always linked to the ideology of the producer. I will argue that for the texts I have studied, there a variety of possible audience responses, but the producer tries to manipulate the ideology of the audience in order to enforce the preferred reading
Context - Blue Planet II is a nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough and broadcast on BBC1 on Sundays. Jeremy Kyle is a reality chat show broadcast at 09:25 on ITV1, and Westworld is a sci-fi western hybrid produced by HBO.
Definition - In order to explore this, I shall be using Stuart Hall's reception theory to demonstrate the range of responses in these media products. Reception theory refers to the different ways an audience can respond, including oppositional, negotiated and preferred readings of the ideology of the producer.
Westworld - the interrogation scene
- There are a range of possible responses that the audience can make to the interrogation scene in Westworld.
- Low key unnatural lighting makes reference to the horror genre.
- ECU of fly crawling across the eye connotes disgust and revulsion
- Emotionless facial expression suggests a sense of isolation to the audience
- Biring her back online - Lexis functions as a powerful action code, suggesting possible exciting scenes ahead.
- Audience is manipulated by the producer through the disgusting and transgressive imagery.
- However, a possible alternative response is sexual gratification through the use of full frontal nudity. Assumes the audience is both heterosexual and male confirms patriarchal hegemony.
- Cultivates an assumption that women will always be sexualised.
- In this sense, Westworld that a range of audience responses are possible, yet there is a clear preferred reading.
Jeremy Kyle - Dog scene
- Informal mode of address is constructed through stereotypically working class costume.
- Accent and lexis again stereotypically working class, reinforces the ideology that working class people are inferior to the middle class, through being fat, ugly and with poor fashion sense.
- Audience further manipulated through MS parallel edit to obese and stereotypically ugly working class woman.
- Reaction shots anchor the audience to believe the dominant ideology that the working class are disgusting and funny.
- Oppositional response is to be sympathetic to the guests, though it is reinforced time and time again that this is NOT the preferred reading.
Thanks to P block for this response!