Encoding / Decoding

COM 327 February 11, 2013

Stuart Hall Lego From Theory.org.uk

Quiz!!

1. ‘Encoding’ refers to the activities of media producers. ‘Decoding’ refers to the activities of media _________.

a) educatorsb) consumersc) dupesd) conglomerates

2. To put it paradoxically, the event must become a “______” before it can become a communicative event.

a) paradoxb) storyc) tragedyd) tabloid

3. Hall distinguishes between the denotative and _________ meanings of symbols.

a) connotativeb) hyperactivec) falsed) productive

4. The three positions modes ‘decoding’ in Hall’s model are:

a) Happy, Angry & Boredb) Aggressive, Passive & Passive-

aggressivec) Dominant-hegemonic, Negotiated &

Counter-hegemonicd) Transmission, Ritual, Symbolic

BONUS!“McDonald’s food is delicious, but I don’t eat it because it’s bad for me.”

In Hall’s theory, this would be an example of a ______ reading.

a) uselessb) negotiatedc) satanicd) oppositional

COM 327 February 11, 2013

Encoding / Decoding

1. Quiz2. Unit overview3. Stuart Hall & cultural studies4. Group work: Close reading5. Encoding/decoding in practice

Stuart HallFebruary 3, 1932 to February 10, 2014

MulticulturalismCritical race theoryCultural studiesEncoding/decoding

CULTURAL STUDIES

Guiding questions:• Whose voices, identities and

experiences most often get communicated in mainstream media?

• Whose do not?• Whose interests does this serve?• How & why does this matter?

Political economy Cultural studies

Considers… Systems Practices

Analyzes… Labor(economic relations)

‘Texts’(meanings)

Power happens through…

Who owns what(capital)

Media representations(ideology)

Archvillain is…

Stuart Hall on Representation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sbYyw1mPdQ

From thinking that the media “re-presents” events to the idea that there is no meaning outside of representation

GROUP WORK!Groups of 3. Answer the assigned question in 250/300 words.

Tips:• Look at the “head and shoulders” of the quote; what precedes

it? What follows it?• Where else are the key concepts used in the text?• Where else have we seen a similar concept in the course?

Stuart Hall vs James CareyCarey: Rejected ‘transmission’ model in favor of ‘ritual’ view of communication

Hall: Did not challenge the basic FORM of the transmission model, but infused it with new vocabulary using 1) Marxism and 2) semiotics

Stuart Hall used Marxian analysis & vocabulary (“dominance”, “hegemony”, “production”) to re-cast communication as a struggle for power…

over MEANING.

SEMIOTICS

Study of symbols (linguistic, visual, aural, etc) and the ways they ‘stand in’ for reality & for other ideas.

“COW”

Semiotic analysis gets away from “effects” model:

“representations of violenceon the TV screen are not violence but messages about violence...

but we have continued to research the question of violence, for example, as if we were unable to comprehend this epistemological distinction.” (Hall, p. 166)

In between the “message” and its “effects” is a whole series of layers:- Prior experiences- Identity & subjectivity- Culture & ideology

E.g. INTERPRETATION.

“Denotative” meaning:Conventional meaning of the message.

“COW”

“Connative” meanings:Implied meaning of the message

“COW?”

Bringing Marxism & Semiotics together…

How you will “decode” a message depends on the extent to which you “buy in” to the dominant ideology underlying that message.

Three modes of “decoding”:• Dominant-hegemonic • Negotiated• Counter-hegemonic

Examples:What are your favorite / love-to-hate Ads? Images? Memes? Movie clips?

• What are the CODES used?• What are the “DOMINANT MEANINGS”?• What is a NEGOTIATED reading? OPPOSITIONAL?