Audiences - Reception Theory

Audience reception theory is based on how different media texts use different characteristics and interpretations to get different responses from an audience. The audience are influenced or get a effect from these texts. These media texts can include music, music videos, TV, film, magazines and adverts.

Encoding/decoding theory
Here is a model of this theory:

So from this model we can see that producers put messages in a media text for the audience to see and pick up on. These messages could be through talking, writing, visuals, body language and intertextual references. In the context of reception theory we are looking at messages that are secondary and hidden behind the main text. Therefore the main method that producers will use is body language as one action or position could mean something different to people based on their age, culture, religion etc.

When the audience read these messages they will have a different reaction:

• Preferred reading - this is when the audience agree with the producers encoded message like how people who eat meat would agree with advertisements of meat products and junk foods containing animal sources.
• Negotiated reading - this is when the audience partially agrees with the message like healthy living people would agree with advertisements of meat products and vegetables but not those with preservatives and chemicals in.
• Oppositional reading - this is when the audience disagrees with the message like when vegetarians and vegans would oppose meat products and junk foods.

Encoding/decoding in music videos

Managers of music artists will encode messages within music videos to give further meanings to the fans and also in the hopes of getting more money.

Fans of the artist and the target audience would be preferred readers as they would support the artists and all of the messages that are connected to the.

Negotiated readers would be the secondary target audience as they would partially agree with the music video.

Parents and people who dislike the artist/video would be oppositional readers and would have negative opinions on the music video.

An example where the artist uses body language to give a message would be Hailee Steinfield in her video "Starving"

A preferred reader would see Hailee's body language as playful but sexy at the same time. This is a good thing as she isn't over-sexualised and her actions match the meaning of the lyrics. Furthermore they could say that the body language of the men feature in the video is very serious giving the representation that the main focus is Hailee. This is true as she is the main singer of the song so attention should be draw away from her.

A negotiated reader would see the body language of Hailee also as sexy and playful but they could disagree with some of her costumes as they are short and some revealing. This second target market could be younger than the main target market therefore over-sexualised costumes would not appeal to them.

Oppositional readers would see both the body language, costumes and even some of her make-up to be too sexualised and could see Hailee being objectified. Her body language is too sexual, costumes very revealing and her makeup makes her look flawless (like a doll) which gives fault representations to younger girls.

I would be a preferred reader as I agree with all of these messages. I feel like she is not over-sexualised as compared to other artist Hailee is covert up and her movements sometimes look stiff which mean's she isn't being too flirty. I feel like her make-up is fine as ive seen pictures of her natural and she looks almost the same therefore this doesn't give fault representations to younger girls as Hailee isn't being drastically changed like other artists.