Stuart Hall's theory suggests that media texts are encoded by the producer which means that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages (ideologies) that are decoded by the different audiences and perceived in different ways depending on the audience, not always in the way the producer intended.
The ways the audience will react in one of 3 ways:
1.
Dominant/Preferred - the audience view the media text in the way the producer intended. The audience agree with the ideology and message behind the text.
2.
Negotiated - this is a compromise between the dominant and the oppositional readings, the audience accepts the views of the producer but also has their own input and understanding in relation to the text.
3.
Oppositional - the audience fully reject the meaning intended by the producer as they do not agree with it and so create their own reading of the text.
I think the intended message from the producers of this music video is to show that society has a distorted image of perfection which leads us to put unnecessary pressure on young women for them to look a certain way. Although men are self-conscious to, in my opinion self-consciousness is more of a problem for women as we are the more judgemental gender and have more of a tendency to compare ourselves with another which lowers self-esteem. This leads to girls going to extreme lengths in order to achieve results that they believe will make them happy however this, more often than not, leaves them both physically and mentally unhealthy.
The producers of the video also intended to show the less-glamorous side to an industry which seems so attractive to younger girls, almost trying to dissuade them from becoming involved in it all as it becomes addictive in that if you don't win the first time round, you don't want to give up until you do win just to prove to the other women that you are capable of doing it and perhaps even to yourself so that you feel as though you are good enough and you are able to achieve something.
The kind of audience that would respond to this video with the dominant/preferred view could perhaps be those who work in this industry themselves as they would be able to empathise with how the women in the video are feeling. I also think that women are more likely to sympathise with the emotions of depression, unhappiness, self-hatred and lack of confidence as I think
that most women have felt like this at some-point in their life, by no means am I saying that men don't ever feel like this but I feel that is more common within women than in men.
The
dominant/preferred view is:
- to show how ignorant we, as a society, are to an industry that we are so quick to judge
- to break the stereotype that people place upon the women that are involved in the beauty/fashion industry as they expect them to love themselves and be overly confident and look down on others who are perhaps more insecure or less glamorous than they are however the video shows that they are just as, if not more, self-conscious as every other woman.
- to show that stereotypes are untrue (as a conclusion of the point above), this is shown where a girl who is extremely thin pulls at the skin around her ribs, which are visible, implying that she thought she was fat and still not good enough.
The
negotiated view is:
- although the audience are made to feel sorry for the women in the music video they have chosen to become involved in this industry so they have brought it upon themselves which decreases the amount of sympathy the audience has for them if it seems self-inflicted.
- shows women as the self-conscious and weaker gender and men as the dominant and more confident gender, controlling the women and making them feel small.
The
oppositional view is:
- the video only shows this industry in a negative light and does not consider the positive sides of the industry and so people who do not have much knowledge will only see and believe the negative side which is shown to the audience.
- it could be a bad influence on young girls who watch this video as it not only suggests to them that have to be stick thin and flawless in order for society to accept them, but it also gives them ideas as to how they can lose weight in order to be like the women they see in videos.
- the women shown in the music video are not good role models for the younger audience whom this could be seen by as there are scenes of violence between the women which may suggest to young girls that it is okay to behave like this and treat each other in this way.
Applying the Hypodermic Needle Theory
This theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people by 'shooting' or 'injecting' them with appropriate messages. The audience is passive and believes it therefore they give the desired response. When media was not as advanced as it is today and when this theory was put forward, people believed what they were told because there was no other source of information to check that what they are being told is true.
The cons of this theory are now that this theory is invalid because I how media has evolved to be at the level it is today. Other things include:
- not everyone consumes media in the same way
- more up to date theories have proved that audiences are no longer passive
- we, as an audience, have more knowledge of media conventions therefore we can tell when something does not seem completely legitimate.
I think this theory directly applies to the music video I have chosen to analyse because it has a very strong message as discussed in my essay on narrative, and by overwhelming the audience with ideas and messages (ideologies) they feel obliged to conform to and believe what they are being told is true therefore an institution can manipulate an audience.
Throughout this video the audience are only shown the negative side of the industry and the video ignores any positive aspects it may have, as a result of this, as the audience, we create a feeling of resentment towards an industry that mistreats women who put in so much hard work and make so many sacrifices ion order to be successful and as a result also making that industry successful as well yet they get so little respect in return and we also sympathise with the women.
The ways in which the producers show this industry in a negative light is by showing the audience both visually and through the lyrics of the song. In my opinion, the point in the video where we realise really how happy the character Beyonce is playing really is. The imagery that follows the clip of her saying that she 'aspires to be happy' is so powerful and connotes exactly how she feels.
The image to the left portrays connotations of distress, unhappiness, and shows that she is fed up and miserable in what she is doing and the audience can tell this through her facial expressions - frowning, holding her head in her hands and from her lips it look as though she is sighing. Her lack of make up reveals that her eyes look dark which makes her look exhausted and distressed as well as isolated and vulnerable which is reinforced by the fact that she is the only person in the shot and the background is blurred out so the audience is unsure of her location at this point in the video.
The image to the right is much more abstract in comparison to the image above. The audience could interpret this image as Beyonce's thoughts on the inside rather than taking it literally and implying that she is drowning. Although watching Beyonce sink deeper into the water literally looks like she's drowning I think it has a much deeper meaning. It represents that she is losing/has lost control, her hands that appear to be covering her ears act like she is attempting to block out everything that she has become so consumed into.
The dark blue and black tones of the water in the image show that she is both mentally and physically in a dark place and blue filter over the image makes it look cold and eerie which is there main reason that the audience can infer that she is not in a nice place and isn't somewhere they would want to be themselves.
Of course, there are more areas of the video that 'inject' the audience with negativity however I used these two as examples because I feel that they are some of the most powerful examples and that they represent the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' in the best way.
Applying Blumler and Katz's Theory
Blumler and Katz's Theory looks at "what people do with the media" rather than "what the media does to people" as well as the motives of the people who use the media, or in other words - 'Uses and Gratifications'. They suggest that audiences have social and psychological needs which generate certain expectations. The audience is the active participant, it allows them to make choices on what they want to consume.
The model is broken down into 4 different needs which are:
1.
Surveillance - based on the fact that people enjoy having the feeling that they have a better understanding of what is going on in society and the world around us.
2.
Personal Identity - explains how being a subject of the media allows us to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves in society. When consuming a media product we associate and relate to the product directly, making us feel gratified and able to relate to a product.
3.
Personal Relations - for example, people use television to form a companionship as there will always be something on TV to suit your mood. People also form personal; relationships with characters whom they feel they can relate to and get attached to story lines they are involved which explains why people cry during sad films - they feel a connection to the character.
4.
Diversion - we use media whether it be TV, film, social networking, or magazines to divert our thoughts and take our minds of everyday life.
I feel that the reason why people watch music videos is for the chance to understand the song through the narrative of the video because this can help to either make the meaning clearer to an audience or to further deepen their initial thoughts about the song. By just listening to a song an audience can make up their own interpretations and their own imagery to go with the song based on what the song means to them and if they can relate to the song in any way through a situation they have been in before, A music video, on the other hand, is how the artist feels about their song and it is their chance to intercept the audiences initial thoughts and replace them with how the artist wants the song to be received by the audience, in terms of the imagery they create whilst listening to the song, how it makes them feel, how to link it with real life scenarios etc.
One way in which Beyonce's music video link to the 1st need in Blumler and Katz's theory,
Surveillance, is because the music video, in a way, is educational as it gives the audience a 'behind the scenes' perspective of the fashion/beauty industry, an industry the general public are usually only able to read about in magazines or see on television. The after watching the video the audience would feel as though they have a better understanding of what really goes on in that industry thus making them less susceptible to all the thing they read in the media and more aware of what is actually going on in society. This could be damaging to the reputation of the fashion industry because anything Beyonce does has the potential to reach an audience of millions because of her worldwide popularity and people may not be so supportive of it after consuming the video because they have a much better understanding of the impact it has on those who are immediately involved in it. (Perhaps this was the intended purpose of the producers of this video? - links to Stuart Hall Recption Theory)
Both the 2nd and 3rd 'needs' in Blumler and Katz's theory,
personal identity and
personal relations are quite similar as
personal identity recognises that, as a society, we use the media as a way of finding out more about ourselves such as where we come from, stereotypes surrounding our social group and perhaps also the reasons behind why we do as we do. In my opinion, this music video would appeal more to a female audience than it would to a male audience because the main theme of the song is insecurity and being afraid of what others think about you and although this is a problem for boys and for men, I feel that it is a much more common occurance in every day life for women therefore they will be able to relate to it much better.
Personal relationships is about using the media to form companionship not only with the characters that we may see on television but also in real life, using the media to friendships and social groups. An example of this which doesn't necessarily link to Beyonce's music video alone but does link to Beyonce as an artist is the name that she has given to her fan base to identify as - The 'BeyHive', by having a name all of Beyonce's fans can come together under this fan base and form a social group on the basis that they all have a strong interest for beyonce and her music and they all have at least that in common, although it doesn't happen very often there are rare stories of people finding their 'best friends' through being a fan of the same band or artist. Others include
Directioners (One Direction),
Little Monsters (Lady GaGa),
Swifties (Taylor Swift) and
Smilers (MIley Cyrus) to name just a few.
Another reason as to why an audience would choose to consume a music video as well as the one above, is to so with the 4th 'need' in Blumler and Katz's theory which is
diversion. The same as the reason people choose to consume television programmes, people also choose to consume music videos as a way of diverting their thoughts and taking their mind off of every day life, so in a way the media, in numerous formats, acts as a form of distraction and additionally using it as a way to fill our time when we are not at work or at school.
