When I first learned Stuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding theory, I realised something important:
media does not give us fixed meaning — we help create the meaning.
This changed how I see news, advertising, and even TikTok trends.
1. How I understand Encoding
Encoding is the moment when media producers make choices.
They choose images, words, camera angles, and tone.
Before studying the theory, I thought these choices were neutral.
Now I know they reflect cultural values and ideology (Hall, 1980).
For example, when news reports a protest, the producer decides whether to show peaceful marching or violent conflict.
This already encodes a particular meaning.
2. How I decode media differently
Decoding is my favourite part of the theory.
Hall (1980) explains that audiences can understand messages in three ways: dominant, negotiated, or oppositional.
I found that I often use negotiated reading.
For example, when an ad says a product will “change my life,”
I accept that it may be useful,
but I also know they are trying to sell something.
Sometimes I even use oppositional reading, especially when brands force themselves to look “inclusive” or “socially aware.”
To me, it feels like performance, so I decode it differently.
This made me realise that meaning is not controlled by the media.
My background shapes how I understand things (Hall, 1993).
3. Why the theory matters today
In the digital era, Hall’s idea feels even more relevant.
People constantly re-interpret media, comment on it, remix it, or make memes.
This is decoding happening in public (Livingstone, 2004).
When I browse TikTok, I see users giving totally different explanations for the same video—some support it, some joke about it, some criticise it.
This shows how meaning becomes a shared negotiation between producers and audiences.
The theory also helps me reflect:
• What meaning is encoded here?
• Why do I react this way?
• What does my interpretation say about me?
4. Conclusion
Encoding and Decoding is not only a theory for me.
It is a tool to understand how meaning is created.
Media producers encode messages based on their culture and goals, but audiences decode with their own experience and identity.
Meaning lives between these two forces.
References
Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/decoding. In S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, & P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, Media, Language (pp. 128–138). London: Hutchinson.
Hall, S. (1993). The work of representation. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (pp. 13–74). London: Sage.
Livingstone, S. (2004). The challenge of changing audiences: Or, what is the audience researcher to do in the age of the Internet? European Journal of Communication, 19(1), 75–86.
