Jade Jackson Unit 6 Critical Approaches

1. Audience Theories
Many different audience theories are used by media analysts to gain an understanding of
how audiences respond to media text.
The Hypodermic Model
This dates from the 1920’s and was the first attempt to explain how mass audiences react to
mass media. It suggests that an intended message is directly received and accepted by the
audience/receiver. This passive audience is immediately affected by these messages and the
public essentially cannot escape from the media's influence. The Hypodermic Model
suggests that the public is vulnerable to the messages sent at them, which is because of the
limited communication tools and the studies of the media's effects on the masses at the
time. It means the media explores information in such a way that it injects in the mind of
audience. This theory suggests that audiences are manipulated by the creators of media
texts in a way that our behavior and thinking can be easily changed by media producers.
Encoding and Decoding Model
The Encoding/decoding model of communication was first developed by cultural studies
scholar Stuart Hall in 1973. His essay was titled 'Encoding and Decoding in the Television
Discourse,' and offered a theoretical approach of how media messages are produced,
disseminated, and interpreted. His theory claims that TV and other media audiences are
presented with messages that are decoded, or interpreted in different ways depending on
an individual's cultural background, economic standing, and personal experiences. When
you decode a message, you are extracting the meaning of that message into terms that you
are able to easily understand. Decoding has both verbal and non-verbal forms through
communication, meaning decoding behavior without using words would be observing body
language. People are able to decode body language based on emotions. Decoding is all
about the understanding of what someone already knows, based on the information given
throughout the message being received.
Hall claims that the decoding subject can assume three different positions:
Dominant/hegemonic position, negotiated position, and oppositional position. The first
view he discusses is the dominant/hegemonic view, this is where the consumer takes the
actual meaning directly and decodes it exactly the way it was encoded. Another
hypothetical position is the negotiated position which is a mixture of accepting and rejecting
elements. This means that the audience is acknowledging the dominant message, but do
not want to completely accept the message the way the encoder intended. The reader to a
certain extent, shares the texts code and generally accepts the preferred meaning, but is
simultaneously resisting and modifying it in a way which reflects their own experiences and
interests. Lastly, there is the oppositional position which suggests that the viewer can

2. understand the literal and connotative meanings of a message while decoding a message in
a globally contrary way. The audience recognises that their meaning is not the
dominant/intended meaning but slightly changes the message in their mind to fit an
alternative framework of reference. Although the audience understands the intended
meaning they do not share the text’s code and end up rejecting it. This view is again based
on an individual’s cultural background and life experiences. These could include somebody’s
age, gender, social background (economic class), cultural background (peer group,
nationality/ethnicity), political views and circumstances of exhibition.
Uses and Gratifications Theory (Blumler and Katz)
Researchers Blumler and Katz published this theory in 1974, stating that individuals might
chose and use a text for the following purposes, or uses and gratifications:
 Diversion – Escape from everyday problems and a routine.
 Personal relationships – This would mean using the media for emotional and other
interaction, for example substituting soap operas for family life.
 Personal Identity – This would be finding yourself in texts, learning behavior and
values from text.
 Surveillance – Information which could be useful for living, for example weather
reports, financial news and holiday bargains.
Source: PR2 Audience Theory.pptx
Fight Club
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck
Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher, and stars Brad Pitt, Edward Norton,
Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf and Jared Leto. The plot follows the story of the
unnamed narrator (Edward Norton) who is a traveling automobile recall specialist suffering
from insomnia. Whilst looking for a way to change his life, he soon meets a soap maker
named Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt, who both form an underground fight club that
evolves extremely into something more.
The BBFC did not initially grant Fight Club an 18 certificate as some critics reacted strongly to both
the film’s thesis and its level of personal violence. Alexander Walker, then veteran critic of the
London Evening Standard, who had seen it in Venice, inveighed against the film as "a toxic
experience ... an inadmissible assault on personal decency ... and on society itself. It resurrects the
Führer principle. It promotes pain and suffering as the virtues of the strongest. It tramples every
democratic decency underfoot." Alexander’s view is oppositional and links to the Hypodermic
Model, stating that the public are vulnerable to the violent message of the film and everybody will
think and be manipulated by the filmthe same. The filmwas seen as a blackly comic satire of

3. capitalismand consumerism; as an exploration of the loss of male identity in a feminised society,
and as about violence as a way in which the powerless male can reassert himself against the
corporate world he inhabits. The film presented sequences in which men challenged other men to
beat them up, and then allowed their opponents to do so without any resistance from their
‘victims’, the result being scenes of strong, and sometimes bloody, violence.
While BBFC examiners found the film stylish and challenging, and some felt an uncut 18 was
acceptable for this adult viewing experience, there were concerns under the BBFC
guidelines of the time about the glamorisation of violence and the potential for encouraging
an interest in organised bare-fist fighting. Neither the novel nor the filmcondoned brutal
fighting, as the conclusion of the narrative makes clear. The BBFC examiners had an
oppositional view of the filmlinking to the messages and violent content in the film, in
which they were trying to protect the public from the film’s messages. After extensive
consideration, the final decision was taken to require cuts under the Guidelines of between
six and seven seconds to two scenes - both of which, it was felt, focused on the pleasures of
beating the faces of helpless victims to a bloody mess. With these cuts made, an 18
certificate was given. The BBFC insight read ‘Passed 18 for occasional strong violence’. The
film had been classified uncut at R in the United States. The cuts were repeated in April
2000 for the video version. In 2005, with a new set of Guidelines and a new BBFC Director,
all cuts were waived to pass a new widescreen DVD submission at 18.
Source: https://canvas.salfordcc.ac.uk/courses/278/files/62680/download?wrap=1
I recently created a research survey for Fight Club for the purpose of gaining an
understanding of audience reactions to a media text.
The first question I asked on my survey was, “What is your age?”, in which I received 6
responses. 5 of the responses I received (83.33%) are in the age group of 18-24, with 1
responder (16.67%) in the age group of 45-54, which illustrates that a much younger
audience watched the film rather than an older audience. This research links to the
Encoding and Decoding Model Theory by Stuart Hall stating that a view of a media text is
based on an individual’s cultural background and life experiences. These could include
somebody’s age, gender, social background (economic class), cultural background (peer
group, nationality/ethnicity), political views and circumstances of exhibition. In the case of
my research on Fight Club, age is a significant factor as to who would watch the film, as a
much younger audience was attracted to Fight Club.

4. The next question I asked on my survey was, “What is your gender?”, in which I again
received 6 responses. 5 of the responses I received (83.33%) were male, with 1 responder
(16.67%) being female, this connotes that the film attracted more of a male audience than a
female audience. This again relates to the same Encoding and Decoding Model Theory by
Stuart Hall, as the film attracted a specific audience based on gender.
The third question I asked on my survey was, “Where did you find out about the film?”, and
I received 6 responses. 4 of the responses I received (66.67%) said they heard about the film
through word of mouth, with the remaining 2 responders stating that they heard about the

5. film through watching the filmtrailer, which implies that the filmis a pre-conceived idea as
people are still speaking about the filmin a positive way. This links to Stuart Hall’s encoding
and decoding model theory, specifically to circumstances of exhibition as people are
speaking about the film in a good way before they may have even seen it, expecting good
quality from the filmas it is a classicfeaturing well-known actors/actresses.
The next question I asked on my survey was, “Had you heard about the film before studying
it in class?”, in which I received 5 responses and 1 skip on the question. The most popular
answer was “Yes”, which received 4 responses (80%), with “No” receiving 1 response (20%).
This again links to circumstances of exhibition within Stuart Halls Encoding and Decoding
Model Theory, stating that the view of a media text is based on an individual’s cultural
background and life experiences. These could include somebody’s age, gender, social
background (economic class), cultural background (peer group, nationality/ethnicity),
political views and circumstances of exhibition.

6. Another question I asked on my survey was, “Give a response to the film, on a scale of 1-10,
10 meaning you really liked the film to 1 meaning that you did not like the filmat all”, in
which I received 5 responses and one skipped response. The majority of the responses (4
out of 5) stated that they liked the film voting 7 and above, however the remaining 1
response (20%) I received voted for 3, meaning that they disliked the film. This again links to
the pre-conceived idea of people still talking about the film many years later as it is a classic
and very popular/successful film, linking to Stuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding Model
Theory.

7. The next question I asked on my survey was, “What is your opinion of violence in the film?”,
in which I received 6 responses. The most popular answer I received was that the violence
was just right for the films context/subject matter, which received 5 responses (83.33%),
with the remaining 1 response (16.67%) feeling that there was too much violence in the
film. This links to Stuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding Model Theory which is based on an
individuals’ cultural background and life experiences. These could include somebody’s age,
gender, social background (economic class), cultural background (peer group,
nationality/ethnicity), political views and circumstances of exhibition.
The 7th question I asked on my survey was, “What did you like/dislike about the film?”, and I
received 6 responses. These responses ranged from not liking the excessive violence in the
film, liking the plot twist at the end of the film, finding the film boring/difficult to
understand and also liking the the depth of the storyline. This links to Stuart Hall’s Encoding
and Decoding Model Theory, as some people may not like the violence because of their age,
gender or social background.

8. The next question I asked on my survey was, “Do you feel that your reading of the film is
preferred, negotiated or oppositional and why?”, in which I received 6 responses. These
responses were mixed and included all 3 views with answers such as understanding why the
violence was included in the film, oppositional as the story was aimed more towards a male
audience, negotiated as the plot was too much to handle during some points, also preferred
as they are a huge fan of the film and enjoy the complex narrative style of the film and the
performances of the main characters. This links to Stuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding
Model Theory as responses from this question included that they felt that the film was
aimed more at men, meaning that gender was a main factor of the film. The Hypodermic
Model Theory could also link to the response of accepting the violence in the film, as it
usually would be extremely inappropriate and excessive, however they have accepted this
way of thinking that the violence is appropriate for the film’s context.
Another question I asked on my survey was, “Do you feel that you were diverted by the film
in any way and if so, how?”, and I received 5 responses with 1 skipped answer. The majority
of these responses stated that they were not diverted by the filmas they had the same view
on the matter, however 1 response stated that they were diverted by the humour in the
film and the relationships between the main characters. This response also stated that they
enjoyed the visual style and non-diegetic sound, feeling like it stood the test of time well.
The fact that somebody had the same view on the matter of the film could link to the
Hypodermic Model Theory, as media producers may try to manipulate the audience to all
think the same and change their behaviour towards something.

9. The final question I asked on my survey was, “Are there any elements of the filmthat you
might use for surveillance? E.g. Fashion/music?”, in which I received 5 responses and 1
skipped answer. The answers I received included Fashion, music, reading the novel and
other work by the writer of the film as they were inspired by their own enjoyment of the
film. This links to the Uses and Gratifications Theory (Blumler and Katz), which states that an
audience may take information and elements from something which would be useful for
living.
Overall, I feel that the responses I received were of a preferred reading as the majority of
the responses were positive and stated that they enjoyed the film, taking elements from the
film which would be useful for living.