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

2. Quiz!!

3. 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

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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Multiculturalism Critical race theory Cultural studies
Stuart Hall
February 3, 1932 to February 10, 2014
Multiculturalism
Critical race theory
Cultural studies
Encoding/decoding

10. 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?

11. 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…

12. Stuart Hall on Representation
From thinking that the media “re-presents” events to the idea that there is no meaning outside of representation

13. 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?

14. 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

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

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

17. 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)

18. In between the “message” and its “effects” is a whole series of layers:
Prior experiences
Identity & subjectivity
Culture & ideology
E.g. INTERPRETATION.

19. “Denotative” meaning:
Conventional meaning of the message.
“COW”

20. “Connative” meanings:
Implied meaning of the message
“COW?”

21. 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.

22. 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?