Class context: Stuart Hall famously argued that audiences take an active role in interpretingmedia content and create meanings based on their own social positions, ushering in the field ofaudience reception studies. Per Hall, all audiences participate in “decoding†media, and in thisprocess of decoding reconstruct the meaning for themselves. Audiences can even decode from anegotiated position, in which the audience rejects some of the intended message, or anoppositional position, in which the audience rejects the entire message. bell hooks builds on theoppositional position, describing the “oppositional gaze†that black female spectators bring tomainstream media as a source of power and critique. The proliferation of fan-produced mediaand criticism since the 1970s has allowed for the circulation of oppositional readings ofmainstream media amongst fan communities. Paper Instructions: In this paper, you will use Hall’s encoding/decoding model to consider theways in which media audiences intentionally subvert the intended meaning of a particular mediatext. You will select a single movie or television show and analyze it how oppositional readingshave subverted intended meanings. Your paper should consist of the following sections: Introduction★ Introduce your topic and argument Encoding and Circulation★ Research the production of your selected media example. Note the productioncompany, network or distribution platform, and any additional research aboutfinance or marketing★ Research the creative direction. Who is the showrunner, director, writer, etc?★ Describe content in greater detail. What is the genre? Who are the maincharacters? What are the main plot points? Here, try to describe any intendedmessages about politics, gender roles, or identity. Do these messages supportdominant ideology?★ How popular is this film/program? You can indicate this through metrics such ashow much money it has grossed, any published viewership numbers, or reviews.★ Why might those involved in the production process be motivated to make workthat represents or is in harmony with dominant ideology? Decoding and Oppositional Readings★ Research the oppositional audience reception. How have viewers of this film ortelevision show indicated their oppositional or negotiated readings throughcriticism, fan-fiction, memes, or other forms of their own media production?★ Describe specific examples. How do these circulate and who is their primaryaudience?★ Indicate what position their critque is taking–feminist? queer? anti-capitalist?anti-racist? Here, try to describe the specific messages of the oppositionalreadings and how they subvert specific messages of the original media text Conclusion★ Re-state your argument and trace how your previous two sections built towardsyour argument★ Consider any questions that this research brings up and what this particular caseadds to the discussion of fan studies, and to Stuart Hall’s original model. Citation requirements:★ Include at least two scholarly texts (you can select from the list below, you can usereadings from our course, or you can utilize your own research –see below for tips onsearching for academic work in this area)★ Cite any facts presented throughout your paper using a consistent citation style. Many ofyour sources might come from internet research or from the popular press. Use a citationguide to make sure you cite these correctly.
