In the 1970s, cultural studies expert Stuart Hall published the widely read book “Encoding, Decoding,” in which he made the case that while decoding a visual or media text, viewers can take one of three positions: dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, or oppositional. According to the chapter, the researchers discovered that Hall’s “encoding and decoding” theory could be applied to film communication research, such as the many kinds of adapted films. Significantly, the theory can aid in understanding the precise dissemination process and diverse interpretations of the decoding positions of various audiences in this process.
There are three forms of associating with other people, according to the authors of Stuart Hall’s theory of hegemonic reading: dominant-hegemonic reading, negotiated reading, and oppositional reading (Sturken and Cartwright 57). Where people would identify with another person’s hegemonic perspective is known as dominant-hegemonic reading. This can be taken to an extreme with practices like “brainwashing ” (Sturken and Cartwright 57).When someone agrees with you, it is like wearing rose-colored glasses; they can do no wrong in your eyes. Negotiated reading is when a reader bargains for the viewpoints of the subject or protagonist. When someone says anything, they often consider it to be the whole truth, but other times, they express opinions that do not align with their beliefs or what they feel to be correct (Sturken and Cartwright 57). This could include customs or stereotypes. The most typical kind of hegemony is this one. In essence, oppositional reading occurs when people utterly disagree with everything someone has said or believes. “Appropriation” is one way of doing this (Sturken and Cartwright 57). When anything is taken or borrowed, this oppositional reading may take place.
The French theorist Michel de Certeau provided a helpful description of a negotiating tactic he called “Textual poaching” (Sturken and Cartwright 59). He stated that textual poaching is like living in a borrowed dwelling. He also viewed interpretation as a game in which readers break down and reassemble texts using techniques as basic as skipping pages or using the remote control for a television. De Certeau defined tactics as the “Hit and run” activities and “Strategies” as how institutions exercise power and establish well-ordered systems that customers must navigate (Sturken and Cartwright 63). Dick Hebdige used the term “bricolage” in the late 1970s to describe how adolescent subcultures like punk reused everyday items in unexpected ways (Sturken and Cartwright 64). For instance, Doc Martens were initially designed as orthopedic shoes in the 1940s and began to be sold in Britain in the 1960s as work boots (Sturken and Cartwright 64). However, they were appropriated and later became essential components of several post-1970s subcultures, including punk, AIDS activism, neopunk, and grunge (Sturken and Cartwright 64). For young people committed to independent expression and resistance to the dominant values of mall fashion, the rapid cooptation of resistant designs makes individual expression through alternative clothing styles challenging.
However, there are a few issues that could be delved into further. The essay was written before the Internet’s explosive growth. Therefore, it is crucial to examine more closely how Hall’s concepts connect to contemporary methods of information dissemination via various social media platforms. Given the wide variety of viewpoints and social settings, it is exciting to examine the best techniques for helping the audience interpret the chosen meaning. Overall, this article can offer a theoretical perspective for readers to better grasp or investigate pertinent information in film communication and its audience reception, whether they are academic scholars, film practitioners, or non-academic audiences.
Work Cited
Sturken, Marita, and Lisa Cartwright. “Viewers Make Meaning” Practices of Looking. 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 57-67.