Critical Approaches to Critical Approaches to Media ProductsMedia ProductsBTEC National Diploma in Media (Games)

• Which theory is dominant in audience response research?• What does this theory examine?• What questions does cultivation theory ask us?• This evidence all contributes towards which debate?• What two models are heavily used in effects debate?• What do these models examine?

Audience TheoryAudience Theory

• Active Consumption is:“Critically assessing a media text before accepting it, or

maintaining a critical distance from the text” (Sinistre)

• Passive Consumption is:“accepting things without thinking”

(Sinistre)

• not simply passively accepted• Interpret text based background and

experiences. • Not inbuilt created by relationship with

reader.

Reception studyReception study

What meaning to we get from this

text?

Reception studyReception study

Reception studyReception study

Reception studyReception study

Reception studyReception study

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY0qw_Yt7bc

Reception studyReception study

• The framework of dominant, negotiated, and oppositional readings is not without problems, however.

• Viewers can hold multiple positions towards a film text at once.

• Meaning almost all readings can become negotiated.

ResponsesResponses

Response scale:– Dominant Response: We understand the text, and it

fully appeals to us.– Negotiated Response: We understand the text, but

must be convinced it appeals to us.– Oppositional Response: We understand the text,

however it does not appeal to us.– Participatory Response: We understand the text,

and actively seek to discover more.– Cultural Competence Response: We either do or

do not understand the Text, because it is i/relevant to our culture.

– Fan Culture Response: We Understand the Text, and have a personal strong appeal to it. It is likely that the less shared heritage a reader has with the artist, the less he/she will be able to recognise the artist's intended meaning.

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Reception-Theory.html

http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/receptionhist.htmhttp://www.slideshare.net/dphillips4363/reception-theory-presentation-833299

– Reception Study– Dominant Response– Negotiated Response– Oppositional Response– Participatory Response– Cultural Competence Response– Fan Culture Response