Reception Theory photography task

Reception theory

The reception theory suggests that each individual interprets things differently and has a different outlook on the matter depending on things like social class, race, age and gender.

We were asked to carry out a photography task in order to test this theory. In groups we created 3 different scenarios each with a photograph representing the subject, which is happening. We took three photographs representing a proposal, a fight and being hit by a car. 

The reception theory has three possible results when interpreting: The dominant reading where you see and agree with what is being displayed. The negotiated reading where you see and understand but indecisive about what to believe (sitting on the fence) and the oppositional reading where you see , understand but do not agree with what you are seeing.

 For this picture the dominant reading is a surprise proposal.The majority of people we asked agreed with the dominant reading and only sore and interpreted a proposal. There was one negotiated reading where there was some confusion with begging but other than that everyone we asked agreed with the dominant reading. A wide majority of our audience picked up on the dominant reading.

 For this photograph the dominant reading is a fight between two people. All the readings taken on this photo were dominant. Everyone we asked sore the photograph and agreed with what it is portraying. 100% of the audience picked up on the dominant reading.

For this photograph the dominant reading is being hit by a car. There was a wide range of dominant , negotiated and oppositional readings with this photograph. Some responses included "chilling by a car" and "just bought a car". When we explained the dominant reading these people were examples of oppositional readings. They understood what the photo tries to represent but they do not agree.

In conclusion the majority of the audience picked up on the dominant reading however some opposed to the idea and sore it as an oppositional or negotiated reading.

In my opinion the reception theory is useful. It suggests that individuals can have different opinions on media texts and interpret them in different ways. Some people read a piece of media text and agree with it and fully understand what they are reading, this is the dominant reading. However some people also fully understand what they are reading but strongly disagree, this is called the oppositional reading. A good example would be a headline such as "Prime Minister is the only hope for our nation" some people may completely agree and others may disagree strongly. Those who sit on the fence are part of the negotiated reading. 

The only problem i can see with this theory is that the readings vary for reasons like gender, social class, wealth, race etc. For example a headline like "UK cuts all benefits" would have different readings depending on who is asked. Wealth and social background with make the readings vary. High income tax payers in a wealthy area may be dominant readings 100% where as low income families on benefits are most likely to be oppositional readings. This means that the readings would be bias. 

When readings are taken there should be a wide range of readings in different areas of different genders of different age groups and of different ethical backgrounds. This will get the readings fair and there will be a wide variety as the reception theory suggests that people interpret media texts differently due to these reasons.