Audiences - Reception Theory

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


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





Looking at this model we can clearly state that producers put messages in a media text for the audience to be able to see and pick up on it. These messages can be from a number of things such as writing, visuals, talking, body language, and intertextual references. In the context of the reception theory we are looking for a message that are secondary and hidden behind the main text. Due to this the main method in which producers will use is body language as one main action or position and could be addressed in different ways depending on artists age, race , religion etc..

When a audience reads these messages they will have a different reaction. 

- Preferred reading - this is when the audience agree with the producers encoded message for example people who like eating meat will agree with advertisement on meat products and products with meat chemicals in.

- Negotiated reading - This is when the audience partially agrees with a message to an extent such as healthy eating this means that these people would agree with advertisement of meat products but not those with preservatives and chemicals inside.

- Oppositional reading - This is when an audience disagrees with the message for example vegetarians and vegans would would disagree with meat products and take away food.

Encoding/ decoding in music videos. 

Managers of music artists will encode messages within a music video will give further meanings to fans and this can potentially give in more money.

The artists target audience mainly being fans would be preferred readers due to the fact they would support the artists and due to this they will also support the message that are connected to the negotiated readers which would be the secondary target audience due to them partially agreeing with the music video. Finally the parents or people who dislike the music video would be the oppositional readers who would also have negative opinions on the music video.

An example where the artist uses body language to give a message would be Ariana Grande FT Nicki Minaj - Side To Side.

A preferred reader would see Arianas's body language as flirtatious and sexy but playful at the same time. This is considered a good thing due to her not being over sexualised and her actions definitely match the meaning to the lyrics, due to the music video been presented with much loess sexual looking's comparison to the lyrics. 

A negotiated reader would also see Arianas actions in this light however they could disagree with how revealing the girls are and the second audience are potentially a lot younger this could also be due to the fact Ariana is an ex Nickelodeon star and it could be seen as over sexualising so it may not appeal to them. 

Oppositional readers would look into the body language, costumes and even hair and make up and see it all as Ariana being over sexualised and being objectified and see this image to younger girls as false showing them being revealing with make up and hair being flawless showing a false representation of girls. 

I personally would be a preferred reader as i agree with all the messages it is showing and feel she isn't being over sexualised however she is trying to portray herself in an older light away from her Nickelodeon  target audience. I agree with her make up being a little too much but I would also state I don't see a problem with that. I don't think this gives a false representation to younger girls as its not giving that message and its not really appealing to that audience anyway.