Mordant Belle

Active audience theory is used in media studies, for how viewers interpret media messages, especially in mass media like television.

Most theories about the interpretation of mass media messages and images can be boiled down to indoctrination in ignorance: audiences accept and interpret the messages that mass media (usually corporate businesses like Fox, CBS, NBA, and ABC) distribute like robots or sheep, exactly the way that the message makers want.

Active audience theory goes against all that, saying that the audience itself plays an active role in interpreting the messages using their own social contexts, and are capable of changing the messages themselves through collective action.

During my online discussion of this theory in my media studies class, one cynical commenter thought the theory was laughable. It’s important to notice that active audience theory is not only more important because it attributes power and agency to the audience, but it also takes into account that not everyone has spent their life submersed in the uncontested dominate messages of our culture. Below, his comment, my response.

“I find the definition of the active audience theory to be extremely ironic. A quote from the book says, “Because people are not as stupid, gullible, or easy to dominate as the media indoctrination perspective would have us believe.” I beg to differ, the current television landscape proves we are indeed just that. The current reality TV craze where they pump out as many variations as they can is an example of how gullible we are. I abhor that crap but numbers don’t lie, we watch them all. We have American Idol (a next generation Star Search Rip-off) to thank for starting it all. Other than reality TV your only option is some form of a cop show involving forensic evidence, which they also can’t stop duplicating.

The one aspect of the active audience theory that seemed to fit for me is the social context aspect. Using American Idol as an example, no other show in my memory has ever had people talking about it as much in a social context. These shows are the ultimate “water cooler talk” type programs. So, do others agree with me or is there holes in my reasoning?”

I think the most important thing to remember when it comes to the “active audience” theory is that television is NOT the only socialization tool the populace is subject to. Everyone brings a different “outside” context and lens to mass media, which they then use to interpret it, and this leads to multiple interpretations of the same content.

As a feminist, I will interpret messages from certain shows and ads differently than people who do not share my beliefs and perspectives. Other things that will inevitably affect an individual’s interpretation are: people who are affected by immigration, people who aren’t white, people who aren’t American, people who have different levels and focuses of education, and people of different religious backgrounds. Anyone belonging to these sub-groups, or combination of sub-groups, will interpret media messages differently and come to a variety of different, sometimes conflicting, conclusions - because they have different contexts and lenses through which to interpret the original message.

That’s the biggest point of the theory - people don’t come to mass media as blank slates. Audiences actively interpret the message based on their context and frame. So while the MAJORITY of the populace might agree on the DOMINATE message of a given mass media product, that’s hardly the only interpretation available. Seeking out other perspectives, contexts, and frames will enhance your understanding of the message.

What do you think? Are audiences numb sheeple, or active interpreters? Some combination? Are certain groups more prone to be accepting mass media messages without question?

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
By Naomi Wolf, 2002, Harper Perrenial, 368 pages
Mel’s Reading Status: READING

Commentary:
I am in the process of reading this book, and it’s so powerful. It’s one of those things that really wakes you up to how much of what we suspect, what we have this instinct is going on but can’t quite put our finger on because it seems so normal, so Just The Way Things Are, is a SYSTEM. It’s not an accident, but an institution, an actual system and process that was put in place to preserve the majority of people from having equal access to power.

Summary, Description, and/or History:
Summary Via Amazon.com: In a country where the average woman is 5-foot-4 and weighs 140 pounds, movies, advertisements, and MTV saturate our lives with unrealistic images of beauty. The tall, nearly emaciated mannequins that push the latest miracle cosmetic make even the most confident woman question her appearance. Feminist Naomi Wolf argues that women’s insecurities are heightened by these images, then exploited by the diet, cosmetic, and plastic surgery industries. Every day new products are introduced to “correct” inherently female “flaws,” drawing women into an obsessive and hopeless cycle built around the attempt to reach an impossible standard of beauty. Wolf rejects the standard and embraces the naturally distinct beauty of all women.

Additional Comments always welcome.

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