TELE 3010 1nd Edition Lecture 20 Outline of Last Lecture I Criticisms of TV Politics II Social Movements III Types of Media Outline of Current Lecture I Active Audiences Current Lecture Active Audiences Chapter 8 Audiences 1 Are audiences active or passive passive being they believe a lot of what they re told receptors of media 2 Audience passivity as a 20th century construction role of film and television 3 Polysemy many meanings A given text can have many meanings depending on how the audiences interpret them 4 Interpretation Audiences making their meanings 5 Is any meaning possible Are there limitless meanings 6 There is a social engagement with media our friends will tell us Oh I really like this movie and etc 7 Meaning is constructed by socially located audiences under specific historical circumstances The Encoding Decoding Models of Media Messages Encoding messages are constructed according to certain codes Ex horror films have a certain code The assumption is that the movie is constructed based on these codes for interpretation Assumptions are taken for granted All texts have these The popular family sitcoms have these codes where we know what to predict Decoding Audiences use their knowledge of both medium specific and cultural codes to interpret the meaning of a text These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Encoding Decoding Model Dominant or preferred meaning reading Negotiated reading the idea of maybe the intent was different that how it was perceived It s an active negotiating This occurs in news as well Active Audiences Media consumers are competent An active audience can use media texts as material to fashion their own narratives An active audience can become a creator Fan culture has always done this The line between producer and consumer is blurred Prosumers producing and consuming at the same time In what way are audiences active Interpretation audiences may not constraint the meaning intended by the producer Social context of interpretation media use is not just individual but also social Collective action Audiences can make formal demands on media producers like demanding to bring back a show Audiences can engage in protests and in boycotts campaigns and lobbying Audience as media producers blogs and webpages dedicated to fandom are an example Create their own media outlets and products Meanings Agency Structure Audiences are not necessarily interpretive free agents Star Trek is an example of interpretive community there are websites and forums that we can consume and discuss the interpretations Structure and Interpretive Constraints Structuring Audiences Social Class and Nationwide There are differences in interpretation between Bank managers truth management trainees favored unions labor unionists favored management middle class students trivial no information black working class Why different interpretations Discursive community they are shaped by how we talk about something the language concepts and assumptions associated with a particular subculture or political perspective Decoding can be based on these different community resources The social position provides the frame through which we interpret the world
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