Portfolio Project: Media Theory

Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory explains how audiences perceive and understand media in different ways. While creators encode meanings and themes into a film, audiences can decode those meanings based on their own experiences, opinions, and emotions. Stuart Hall describes the audience's three types of perception, dominant which is agreeing with the film's message, negotiated which is where the audience accepts the meaning, but changes it to fit their personal lives, and oppositional where the audience understands the message, but ultimately chooses to reject it and interpret the message in a different way. This theory can be useful for films that have a profound message and symbolism behind it, as it allows audiences to interpret what they are watching in different ways.

This theory can be applied to my film opening, The Seventh Lie, as it has symbolism behind it that can be interpreted in different ways. Some viewers may see the replacement brother as a symbol of the family’s grief and denial, accepting the idea that the parents aren't seeing the stranger in their home under the veil of blinding grief. While other viewers may see it differently and interpret the guest as something unsettling and to be afraid of, especially through the dark editing style and repeated dinner scenes that blur what can be understood as reality. By not giving clear answers, the film encourages the audience to choose how they see the film, which reflects Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory.