Encoding/decoding model of communication: Difference between revisions

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Communication theorist [[Stuart Hall (cultural theorist)|Stuart Hall]] argues that there are three positions that people may take upon decoding a television message. He argues three different positions because "decodings do not follow inevitably from encodings.<ref>Media and Cultural Studies (KeyWorks in Cultural Studies) Edited by Durham and Keller. Written by Stuart Hall. p. 171</ref>" Thus, just because a message is encoded on television in a particular way, it does not mean it will be decoded in its intended format. This lays the foundation for Hall's hypothetical positions—he needs multiple positions because there are multiple interpretations that could occur. These positions are known as the dominant-hegemonic position, the negotiated position, and the oppositional position.

The first position that he discusses is the dominant-hegemonic code. This code or position is one where the consumer takes the actual meaning directly, and decodes it exactly the way it was encoded. For instance, political and military elites primarily generated the politics of [[The Troubles|Northern Ireland]] and the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|Chilean Coup]]. These elites created the "hegemonic interpretations"<ref>Media and Cultural Studies (KeyWorks in Cultural Studies. Edited by Durham and Keller. Written by Stuart Hall. p.171.</ref> Because these ideas were hegemonic interpretations, they became dominant. Hall demonstrates that if a viewer of a newscast on such topics decoded the message "in terms of the reference code in which it has been encoded" that the viewer would be "operating inside the dominant code"<ref>.Media and Cultural Studies (KeyWorks in Cultural Studies. Edited by Durham and Keller. Written by Stuart Hall.</ref> Thus, the dominant code involves taking the [[Connotation|connotative]] meaning of a message in the exact way a sender intended a message to be interpreted (encodeddecoded). Under this framework, the consumer is located within the dominant point of view, and is fully sharing the texts codes and accepts and reproduces the intended meaning. Here, there is barely any misunderstanding because both the sender and receiver have the same [[cultural bias]]es.<ref>[http://juliemartin.org/juliemartin-audiencesreception.pdf "Audiences and Reception Theory."] Julie Martin: Community Manager / Animatrice De Communaute. 2007.</ref> This means that the intended message was created by the dominant class and that the recipient was also a part of the dominant point of view.

A modern-day example of the dominant-hegemonic code is described by communication scholar Garrett Castleberry in his upcoming article "Understanding Stuart Hall's 'Encoding/Decoding' Through AMC's [[Breaking Bad]]". Castleberry argues that there is a dominant-hegemonic "position held by the entertainment industry that illegal drug side-effects cause less damage than perceived". If this is the dominant code and television shows like Breaking Bad support such perceptions, then they are operating within the dominant code<ref name="academia.edu">.Understanding Stuart Hall's 'Encoding/Decoding' Through AMC's Breaking Bad Forthcoming Communication Basics for Millennials: Essays on Communication Theory and Culture. Roberts, K, & Hickly, J. (Eds.). New York: Peter Lang. p. 90. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/16236006/_Understanding_Stuart_Halls_Encoding_Decoding_Model_through_TVs_Breaking_Bad_In_Communication_Theory_and_Millennial_Popular_Culture_Essays_and_Applications._Roberts_K._and_Kickly_J._Eds._._New_York_Peter_Lang</ref> Likewise, a viewer believing such perceptions will also be operating within the dominant-hegemonic code since they are encoding the message in the way it is intended.