Audiences and interpretations

Authors

  • Sonia Livingstone

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.185

Keywords:

Audiência, Momento da recepção, Compreensão, Interpretação

Abstract

This article draws on recent developments on communication research to explore the concept of the active audience, and the processes of interpreting media texts. Using the important contribution of Stuart Hall”s encoding / decoding model as a starting point, I advocate a perspective in which audience reception is seen as structured by textual as well by (psycho)social factors. However, the processes of comprehension and interpretation should not be seen as deterministically bounded by these factors. Instead, they must first be distinguished from each other and, second, both must be understood in relation to textual and social opportunities of openness, contradiction, agency, polysemy. Ambiguity etc. I argue that new empirical research needs to be conducted if further steps are to be taken to better understand when, where and under what circumstances different kinds of sense-making occur during these processes.

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Published

24-06-2008

How to Cite

Livingstone, S. (2008). Audiences and interpretations. E-Compós, 10. https://doi.org/10.30962/ec.185

Issue

Section

Special Issue