For this task, you will be considering negotiated readings of key scenes from the set episode of Black Mirror. Stuart Hall argued that rather than all audiences deriving a set meaning from a media product, instead audiences will decode the ideology that has been encoded by the producer in a variety of different ways. This 'theory' is referred to as the encoding/decoding model.
Remember, this is a question that is 'odds on favourite' for appearing in the upcoming mock (basically it has a 50% chance of coming up):
Explore how TV shows can target and attract a niche or specialised audience. Make reference to both the Black Mirror episode San Junipero and The Returned to support your answer [30]
Your central argument here could (should?) be by encouraging a range of highly differentiated polysemic responses, San Junipero actively encourages audience negotiation, which in turn allows niche audiences to truly engage with this complex and rewarding text. Wow, that sounded pretty good, right?
Task - negotiated readings of San Junipero
Find your notes (or ideally the actual scene!) from each of the following:
- The opening scene
- The dress-up scene
- The sex scene
- The argument scene
- The closing montage
Create a table that looks a little like this one, in PowerPoint or whatever you want to use
Here's what you should put in each box
Scene...
A brief description of the scene, making reference to conventions and media language. Remember media language is how you get marks. If you don't have it you don't get marks! Also, point out the dominant ideological perspective in this scene, which is the message that the producer is trying to encode. For example for the first scene it could be something like 'themes of alienation and feeling like an outsider', and/or 'nightclubs are cool, exciting and slightly scary places that young people enjoy engaging with'
Preferred reading
This is what happens if the target audience agrees with the dominant ideology of the scene. For example, in the first scene, you could start with "audiences will identify with Yorkie's alienation, and through being positioned with her, will emphasise with her situation. Gay audiences in particular may identify with feelings of alienation at being situated in a traditionally 'heterosexual' environment
Negotiated reading
This is what happens if the audience partially accepts and rejects the dominant ideology. A good example for the first scene may be "audience members may not identify with Yorkie, and maybe even be put off through her shyness and find her an unlikable, cliched character. However audiences may enjoy the nostalgic and intricately constructed mode of address formed through the many 1980s intertextual references that construct the club, 'Tuckers'." Basically, there are as many negotiated readings as there are people in the world, so go wild here. Put yourself in lots of different shoes (in terms of sexuality, gender, age, media literacy etc)
Oppositional reading
This is what happens if the audience rejects the message! For the first scene an example might be "audience members might not only not identify with Yorkie, they may actively be annoyed by the cliched themes of alienation. Additionally, they may also reject the idea that club settings are locations of excitement, and may also be frustrated at the highly cliched and even inaccurate setting".
BIG TIP
We've been talking about how cool, exciting and innovative San Junipero's presentation of simulation and simulacra are. However, for many audience members, this whole concept may just be 'too smart' and completely ruin a perfectly good romance story. Additionally, even science fiction fans may be extremely frustrated at the numerous plot holes and hand waving that happens throughout. While there are some cool concepts, this episode is definitely not 'hard science fiction', and this is a deal breaker for certain fans!