A yellow/orange hibiscus flower. Photo: Tran Nhat Lam Thuy
"What were two points from this week's reading that stood out to you as particularly important and/or interesting?"
"Why so?"
(O'Shaughnessy, Stadler & Casey 2016)
I find the concept of context incredibly fascinating. Without prior knowledge, as is the case for many audiences, a person reading a text can only infer its meaning by looking at it. Texts convey meaning by making references to the outer world and by utilizing established representational protocols. (O'Shaughnessy, Casey & Stadler 2016). But with the influence of context, the media piece can be interpreted in countless ways.
Another point that I consider interesting is the relationship between the media and audiences. There are six ways to understand this. O'Shaughnessy, Casey, and Stadler (2016) explained that the direct effects model suggests that the intended meaning is formed in the audiences' heads directly by the media producers, while the reinforcement model reinforces existing beliefs. Other factors such as cultivation, desensitization, observational learning and cognitive scripts, and uses-and-gratifications (Blumler & Katz 1974) also play vital roles in the connection between audiences and the media.
Word count: 152
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Roses in a garden. Photo: Tran Nhat Lam Thuy
"In your own words, explain:
- The differences between open and closed texts.
- The three types of decoding Hall proposed."
In my own understanding, an open text is one that the readers are free to interpret in a variety of ways.
(Rothko 1952)
(Australian Government - Department of Health and Aged Care 2017)
A closed text, on the other hand, directs the reader to the intended interpretation.
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(Jenkins 2020)
The three types of decoding that Stuart Hall (1973) proposed are dominant/hegemonic (preferred), negotiated, and alternative/oppositional:
- Dominant/Hegemonic reading indicates the observer concurs with the dominant ideology and the subjectivity it generates.
- Negotiated reading means that, although the spectator typically accepts mainstream ideology, their everyday circumstances prompt particular "local" critical inflections.
- Alternative/Oppositional reading can be understood as the spectator being in a position of direct antagonism to the dominant ideology because of their social context and level of consciousness.
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"Briefly describe a media text you engaged with recently and reflect on your reading position in relation to it (using terms/concepts from the lectures and readings in the unit so far)"
- Title of media text: The Moldy Whopper
- Link to image: https://cached.imagescaler.hbpl.co.uk/resize/scaleWidth/884/cached.offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/news/OMC/mouldywhopperresults_1.jpg
Description:
Burger King shows the apparent transition over thirty days of a Whopper into a molded burger, conveying the lack of artificial preservatives with the significant caption "THE BEAUTY OF NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES", alongside the positive statistics on sales increase and public reception.
Reflect on own reading position (Oppositional Reading):
- The advertisement is incredibly misleading, as a Burger King Whopper can "pose a danger to your cardiovascular health" (Appleby 2018). The burger is demonstrated to be molding due to the lack of artificial preservatives, which does little to support Burger King's authority.
- The statistics may be misleading, as statistical information can be easily manipulated in analysis and presentation to persuade audiences.
- The statistics may be misleading, as statistical information can be easily manipulated in analysis and presentation to persuade audiences.
Word count: 221
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Reference list:
Appleby, M 2018, Are Burger King whoppers healthy?, Healthy Eating | SF Gate, viewed 9 October, 2022, <https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/burger-king-whoppers-healthy-5386.html>.
Blumler, J & Katz, E 1974, The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills and London.
Hall, S 1973, Encoding and decoding in the television discourse, Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
Lynch, A 2022, ‘Lecture 5. Understanding audiences’, MDA10001 Introduction to media studies, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 31 March, viewed 8 October 2022.
'Media & Society' [book cover], in Media and society. 6th ed. Victoria: Oxford University Press, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://www.oup.com.au/new_book_images/covers/9780195597257.jpg>.
O'Shaughnessy, M, Casey, S & Stadler, J 2016, Media and society, 6th ed, Oxford University Press, Victoria, pp. 89-92.
Publicis, INGO Stockholm & Miami, D 2020, 'The Moldy Whopper' [image], in 'Moldy Whopper' campaign recognised with 10 pencils at D&AD awards 2020, Little Black Book, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://cached.imagescaler.hbpl.co.uk/resize/scaleWidth/884/cached.offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/news/OMC/mouldywhopperresults_1.jpg>.
Rothko, M 1952, 'Untitled' [image], in Untitled, (1952) by Mark Rothko n.d., Mark Rothko, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://www.mark-rothko.org/images/paintings/untitled-1952.jpg>.
'Stop smoking, start repairing – health benefits for men' [image], in National tobacco campaign – resources 2017, Australian Government - Department of Health and Aged Care, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/styles/h_content_max_width_no_upscale/public/stop-smoking-start-repairing-health-benefits-for-men-cover_0.jpg?itok=W6EJoLyT>.
'[Stuart Hall]' [image], in Jenkins, H 2020, Stuart Hall: Island boy (1 of 1) by Keesha Wallace, Henry Jenkins, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/592880808419c27d193683ef/1591091302181-FLKI15CNZFGV33N25ION/p06fhw3z.jpg?format=1000w>.
