Encoding and decoding

From MarxWiki

A working knowledge of semiotics is helpful in understanding Stuart Hall's notions of encoding and decoding.

Hall argues that readers of a text do not necessarily decode it in the same way its creator encodes it; in other words, readers do not necessarily interpret the sign or derive meaning from it in the same way as the creator intended. Although this transformation of meaning may occur unintentionally, Hall credits readers of texts with the power to intentionally misread the signs they encounter. Instead of the preferred, or encoded, reading, people may instead accomodate the images to fit their ideas of themselves, or may rebel against these images. These techniques are called negotiated and oppositional readings, respectively.

Hall appeals to cultural background to explain some of the reasons why people might consciously or unconsciously distort the author's encoded or intended meaning for a text. Different signs might mean different things for different ethnic groups; different classes might interpret a scene in an advertisement differently. All of these factors change how cultural ideology and hegemony affect those who consume it, and allow room for cultural resistance.