For the same luxury advertisement, some people think “Wow, so high-end”, some people think it’s too fake, and some people directly close it or even feel disgusted.
Why do the same scenes, the same music and the same character settings evoke completely different feelings in the hearts of viewers?
The “encoding/decoding” model proposed by British cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall in 1973 might be the theoretical tool to explain all this.
Traditional communication studies tell us:The media are responsible for “sending“, while the audience is responsible for “receiving“.
But Hall believes that this process is far more complex than it seems. The media do not simply force “meaning” into our minds intact; instead, they attempt to organize the content, construct the context, and point towards a certain interpretation method according to a certain ideology (Hall, 1980). This is what he called Encoding.The visual and auditory elements in advertisements are not placed randomly – they are meticulously designed to reflect the lifestyle and value positioning that the advertisers hope the audience will adopt.
However, the true meaning is not determined by advertisers, but by the audience. Decoding – the audience will re-understand the advertising content based on their own cultural background, social class position, and life experience. Therefore, meaning is always produced through the interaction of “encoding – decoding” (Hall, 1997).
Three decoding methods of the same advertisement
Hall (1980) pointed out that there are three basic decoding patterns for the audience: Dominant, Negotiated, and Oppositional.
Dominant-Hegemonic
When the audience decoding aligns with the advertising encoding, what the audience sees is exactly what the advertisement intends to present.
Negotiated
These audience have both a partial agreement and a partial skepticism. They understand the logic of the advertisement, but do not fully agree.
Oppositional
They understood the content expressed in the advertisement, but refused to accept its values.
Why do different decodings occur?
Because each person’s social and cultural position varies, such as income level, educational background, personal experience, and personal values. Hall argues that meaning is not inherent within the text, but is generated through the interaction of “encoding and decoding” (Hall, 1980).Therefore, there is no single correct way of interpretation.
When we understand that: the media are encoding meaning, while the audience is decoding it, we will no longer be easily carried away by the narrative of advertisements. We have the autonomy to choose to accept or resist, allowing us to keep the meaning in our own hands in the information society.
Hall’s theory is the cornerstone of cultural studies and an essential tool for understanding the media era.
Reference：
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. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage.
