RECEPTION THEORY: Stuart Hall

• The idea that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding bu audiences 

• The idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meaning may be decoded : 

1. The dominant- hegemonic position: the encoder's intended meaning (the preferred reading) is fully understood and accepted 
2. The negotiated position: the legitimacy of the encoder's message is acknowledged is adapted or negotiated to better fit the decoder's own individual experiences or context 
3. The oppositional position: the encoder's message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it, reading it in a contrary or oppositional way