Audience responses - applying reception theory to HYHGP?: A Grenfell Story

Reception theory refers to how producers will ENCODE (or ‘put in’) a specific meaning or ideology in to a media product. However, audiences can interpret or decode these messages in a variety of different ways. An audience’s interpretation of a media product can be influenced by any number of factors, including political beliefs, personal opinions, personality, age, location, sexuality, gender, etc.

We can break down the three primary ways in which audiences can interpret media as

1. Preferred reading - where the audience agrees with the ideological perspective of the producer
2. Oppositional reading - where the audiences disagrees with the ideological perspective of the producer 
3. Negotiated reading - where the audience both agrees with and disagrees with the ideology of the producer

Negotiated responses to A Grenfell Story

The 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire

• This episode is probably the most highly regarded of the entire series, and a number of contemporary reviews praised the mature and audacious ways in which the episode treated a particularly distressing event. However, clearly, this episode has the potential to provoke a variety of intensely detailed and negotiated readings. One of the most important contributing factors to this is the relative lack of anchorage presented, with almost no contextual information suggesting what the Grenfell incident even is. This places a significant expectation on behalf of the audience, whether to know about the incident in advance, or at least to have the intention to research the incident after listening. 
• The narrative has a circular or cyclical structure, and begins and ends with the same concept. Starting with a conversation between a teacher and a student, it ends wit the emotionally manipulative scene of the same student talking to her now dead teacher. 
• The music changes throughout, and there is a strong emphasis on the soundtrack. Early on, a smooth R&B soundtrack plays that evolves into a dramatic and cinematic soundtrack. The sound effects throughout reinforce this cinematic reading, yet the acne in particular that underlines the idea that this podcast is ‘a film’ is the very end, where George announces “picture a black screen, like at the end of a film, and the words come up “based on a true story”. These cinematic techniques position the audience in an impactful mode of address. By using the metaphor of a film, George creates a powerful bond to the characters, before destroying it at the end and breaking the fourth wall, and revealing the illusion. This intertextual reference helps audiences to better understand a tragic event.
• Soe audiences may interpret this as being insensitive. By dramatizing an actual event that killed real people, it could be argued that George is profiting off of an event he has no relation to. It is unclear if George is a character in a narrative, or telling the story of someone else. However, George has clearly placed himself in to a story, based on reality. By inserting himself in to the narrative, it can be argued that George forms a connection with his audience, and helps them to understand that this horrific event happened to real people. However an oppositional reading may to take offence at the way the George has made himself the main character of this very particular
•  However, it can also be interpreted that George is absolutely not the main character, but is only slightly related to the narrative. The actual main characters are the teacher and her student, and the relationship that they had with each other. This reinforces the dominant ideology that Grenfell was a tragedy that affected real people 
• The character of the teacher is also a single mother, and the representation of her is surprisingly complex, balanced and positive. Single mothers may be able to identify with her, and may also be affected more intensely by the issues in this radio drama . 
• Reception theory refers to how producers will ENCODE (or ‘put in’) a specific meaning or ideology in to a media product. However, audiences can interpret or decode these messages in a variety of different ways. An audience’s interpretation of a media product can be influenced by any number of factors, including political beliefs, personal opinions, personality, age, location, sexuality, gender, etc
• This episode is probably the most highly regarded of the entire series, and a number of contemporary reviews praised the mature and audacious ways in which the episode treated a particularly distressing event. However, clearly, this episode has the potential to provoke a variety of intensely detailed and negotiated readings. One of the most important contributing factors to this is the relative lack of anchorage presented, with almost no contextual information suggesting what the Grenfell incident even is. This places a significant expectation on behalf of the audience, whether to know about the incident in advance, or at least to have the intention to research the incident after listening. 
• Dominant ideology: to position the audience to be in the position of the real people who died in the Grenfell fire. Based on a true true, George has created a dramatized version of events to affect the audience as much as possible.  
• A point is made that many businesses do not survive past their first year. This fraught conversation between teacher and student constructs realistic and relatable modes of address to both teenagers and students, and middle aged people and teachers. We can negotiate this episode differently based on our upbringing. 
• Different people will be affected differently by facts and events. In particular, audiences who have been directly or indirectly affected by the tragedy will negotiate this episode differently. 
• The incident of the fire is overloaded with criss-crossing speech, sound effects and a depressing film-like soundtrack. Audiences can negotiate this scene in a variety of ways. The preferred reading is of course sympathy, confusion and sorrow. However, a negotiated response may involve the audience questioning exactly what actually happened. Audiences may feel confused and even frustrated by the lack of factual accuracy in the episode 
• Some audiences may find the entire episode disrespectful to the people who actually died. The episode presents a dramatized series of events, constructing a dramatic series of events for the purpose of emotional impact. Some audiences may find it distasteful or even wrong that George is using the event for both financial gain and exposure 
• However a further negotiation would be that although the narrative is complex and maybe manipulative, ultimately it increases exposure of a particularly tragic event. While their are very few facts included in this episode, the audience are encouraged to search out facts and meaning themselves 
• Themes of drug trafficking and crime, and how they relate to young black people in inner city areas are key to this narrative. One way of negotiating this aspect could be to take offence at the stereotypical and highly leading representation of young black people. However it also draws attention to a very real issue, that the victims of the Grenfell fire were overwhelmingly people of colour and vulnerable 
• A negotiated reading of of the opening conversation could be embarrassment at the stereotypical relationship of a student and teacher
• Audiences may be frustrated that this episode is so different from other episodes of George's podcast, as it take the form of drama 
• The ending is sad and emotionally manipulative. George speaks in a croaky voice, directly addressing the audience and telling us we are viewing the end credits. This breaking the fourth wall directly addresses the audience. However, some audiences may be frustrated at this ‘clever’ storytelling technique, that takes them out of the narrative 
• George is essentially a self insert character, and he describes how attractive he is, how good at back massages he is, and also what a good poet he is. A negotiated reading of George’s self-representation could be he detracts from the impact of the disaster and this is absolutely not appropriate