Audience Theory

Reception Theory

Given that the effect model and the uses and gratification's have their problems and limitations a different approach to audiences was developed by Stuart Hall at brimngham uni 1970's. This is considered how texts were encoded with meaning by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences.

• This theory is based on the idea that there is no single meaning for any media text 
• It focuses on what people see in the media and the meaning they produce
• It says that messages from media texts can have a preferred meaning that anyone can have an individual interpretation  
• Audience readings are affected by variables of age , gender , social status and social context and this might effect preferred meaning.

Suture

Classical Hollywood narrative , editing , sound and mise-en-scene 'sutures' or position the audience in certain ways making only one preferred reading possible , however unconscious the audience is of that position. The theory stems from the literary and film theories of Roland Barthes , Stephen Hoath , Laura Mulvey and Kaja Silverman but was formulated by Daniel Day in his 'The Tutor Code of Classical Cinema'

This referrers to the technique , codes and conventions of films that are made invisble by filmmakers.

This is done through the use of music , editing and mise en scene.

For example in the film crash:









In this film the man with the gun pulls up in slow motion and ominous music is played this straight away lets the audience know that something is wrong. There is a close up of the gun which lets the audience know the mans intentions. And when the girl jumps on her dad we hear a shot but we dont see the man shooting therefore we assume she's been shot because because of the other man's sad wailing and it draws out an emotional response from the audience.