Stuart Hall

The father of Communication and Cultural Studies

Stuart Hall (Jamaica 1932 — London 2014)

Remaining as one of the most significant works in the Communication and Cultural Studies field, Hall’s ‘Encoding Decoding in Television Discourse’ produced in 1973 was the turning point in his career.

Hall’s model of communication

Stuart Hall played a revolutionary role for three main reasons:

1. he developed theories about how messages are produced and disseminated referring particularly to television
2. he investigated the role of an active audience
3. he refused the linear model of communication (S-M-R)

fig.2 https://storify.com/Mike_OD42/active-audience-reception-theory

Hall suggests a four-stage theory of communication (fig. 2).

This process is produced through the articulation of distinctive moments: production, circulation, distribution, consumption, reproduction. Each stage is “relatively autonomous” (Hall 17) from the others. This means that the coding of a message does not control transparently its reception: messages are not open to any interpretation or use whatsever. In the social sphere, messages are “imprinted” (Hall 13) by institutional power-relations.

The relevance of discourses while communicating a message

As human beings we tend to render something into narrative form in order to understand its significance; our understandings of the world are coded in stories. “It is in the discursive form that the circulation of the product takes place, as well as its distribution to different audiences”. (During 508)

The television communicative process and the role of the audience

Broadcasting structures encode a television messages considering the wider socio-cultural and political scenario. How does the circuit work? The broadcasting structures encode messages in the form of a meaningful discourse and then the receivers decode the message meaningfully. It is this set of decoded meanings which influence, entertain, instruct or persuade people with behavioural consequences.

The television communicative process and the role of the audience

His model claims that TV and other mass media messages are decoded (interpreted) in different ways depending on an individual’s cultural background, economic standing and personal experiences. S. Hall advanced the idea that audience members can play an active role in decoding messages as they rely on their own social contexts and might be capable of changing messages themselves.

Misunderstanding in the televisual communication happen. Why? The producer cannot determine which decoding codes will be employed.

The decoding positions of the audience

S. Hall offers a hypothetical analysis of some possible decoding positions of a televisual message, that are some possible and different ways to interpret a message (fig. 3):

-the dominant-hegemonic position

-the negotiated position

-the oppositional position

1. Dominant-hegemonic position: the audience takes the message in the exact way a sender sent it. The consumer accept the intended meaning because both (sender/receiver) have the same ideological background.
2. Negotiated position: readers understand the message in general, but they don’t completely accept it. The audience modify the message reflecting their own beliefs and interests.
3. Oppositional position: the audience understand the meanings of a message while decoding it in a contrary way, so the audience rejects the message.

fig. 3 https://www.slideshare.net/rob_jewitt/mac201-encoding-decoding-lecture-2010-5870547

Literature:

During, Simon. The Cultural Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 1993. Available here.

Hall, Stuart. Encoding Decoding in Television Discourse. University of Birmingham: Center for Cultural Studies, 1973. Available here.