Twitter: @1000Comm
Instagram: @encodingdecodingpopculture
This website was inspired by cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall and his model of Encoding and Decoding in Media. In this model, Hall proposes that all audiences take on active roles in the “decoding,” or interpretation of media messages. These constructed meanings, which can oftentimes be based upon social or cultural contexts, lead viewers to either intentionally or unintentionally subvert encoded or intended messages away from the dominant reading and towards their own negotiated or fully oppositional reading. Hall emphasizes that “reality exists outside language” and that only through discourse can we understand the true reality. In our modern media landscape, Hall’s model still rings true.
This special issue highlights the work of nine talented authors, each of whom has focused on how Hall’s model can be applied to particular films or television shows. Through in-depth research and analysis of the production, plot, and overall fandom, these authors demonstrate how the original messages ascribed to popular media texts often undergo modification by their fans or viewers. The popular media texts these nine authors have chosen to apply Hall’s model to include Breaking Bad, The Crown, the Harry Potter franchise, The 100, Crazy Rich Asians, Twin Peaks, and Gossip Girl. From these works, themes regarding misogyny, queer coding, inclusivity, and consumerism all emerge. The purpose of this website is to showcase the hard work of our authors, editors, illustrators, and designers, and to provide the reader with a greater understanding of how audience decoding is present in all media today.
Thomas Koch and Bella Kirby (Editors-in-chief)