Encoding / Decoding Stuart Hall Lego COM 327 From Theory.org.uk February 11, 2013

Quiz!!

1. ‘Encoding’ refers to the activities of media producers 1. ‘Encoding’ refers to the activities of media producers. ‘Decoding’ refers to the activities of media _________. educators consumers dupes conglomerates

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

3. Hall distinguishes between the denotative and _________ meanings of symbols. connotative hyperactive false productive Denote – to mark or indicate something. To “point at” something. Connote – to suggest or imply something.

4. The three positions modes ‘decoding’ in Hall’s model are: Happy, Angry & Bored Aggressive, Passive & Passive-aggressive Dominant-hegemonic, Negotiated & Counter-hegemonic 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. useless negotiated satanic oppositional

Encoding / Decoding Quiz Unit overview Stuart Hall & cultural studies COM 327 February 11, 2013 Encoding / Decoding Quiz Unit overview Stuart Hall & cultural studies Group work: Close reading Encoding/decoding in practice

Multiculturalism Critical race theory Cultural studies Stuart Hall February 3, 1932 to February 10, 2014 Multiculturalism Critical race theory Cultural studies Encoding/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 Carey 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 violence on 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… Three modes of “decoding”: Dominant-hegemonic Negotiated Counter-hegemonic How you will “decode” a message depends on the extent to which you “buy in” to the dominant ideology underlying that message.

Examples: What are the CODES used? What are the “DOMINANT MEANINGS”? 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?