What are the two activities that captivate audiences in the playful celebrity world?

COMS 210 Module 3Audiences, activism, and creators06.11Active audiencesIn what way are audiences active?-Interpretation-Social context of interpretation-Collective action-Audience as media producersMeanings: agency and structure-Human agency-Human agency makes sense of the meanings from media texts-Polysemy-Media texts have multiple meanings-Media texts contain an “excess” of meanings w/in them (Fiske, 1986)Polysemy-The notion thatmultiple meaningscan coexist in media content, or “texts.” polysemictexts are “open” to interpretation, they can be enjoyed by a broad range of people.-Thus polysemy can be a highly desirable content feature for mass-market media-Asthe SopranosDavid Chase explained: “we all have the freedom to let the audiencefigure out what’s going on rather than telling them what’s going on”“Uses and Gratifications” ApproachThis approach focused on 2 basic issues:1.What are people doing w/ media, and2.Why are they using media?Active Audience: balancing agency and structure-Whatare people doing w/ media?-Whyare they using media?But first… some more about media textsEx:The March of the PenguinsQ: what kinds of different interpretations might audiences have of the film, depending on theirworldviews?NYT “March of the Conservatives”Film a big hit w/ US conservatives:

-Interpreted as pro-family, pro-life-Supporting “traditional family values” such as monogamy-Viewed as supporting the theory of intelligent design (as opposed to evolution)-Movie’s subtle message about climate change not taken up by conservatives-The filmmakers say they did not consciously avoid those topics — indeed, they say theyare strong believers in evolutionary theories but they add that they wanted to create a filmthat would reach as many people as possible“Open” vs “Closed” texts-March of the Penguinsis a relatively “open” text - purposely so to maximize its audience-“Open” texts are structured to allow for more readings than a “closed” text which tries to

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Tags

Meaning of life, Audience theory, Mainstream, participatory culture

"No Comment" was a space where readers of Ms. could ______.

Who is most likely creating content online?

Scholars use the term polysemy to describe ______.

What makes racialized spaces online like "Black Twitter" important?

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Teenage fans are able to interpret sexual music videos in their own way due to ______.

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According to Janice Radway's classic book, Reading the Romance, the damsel in distress, the woman who is incomplete without her heroic man, and the woman who finds love with the man who has sexually assaulted her are all heterosexist visions most commonly found in ______.

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The sexuality of videos featuring performers such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper was interpreted by teenage fans as a ______.

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In regard to online participation, what is the 1% rule?

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When Liebes and Katz compared the decodings of six different ethnic groups from three different countries, they found that the distinct strategies they used to interpret could be explained by their ______.

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Which characterizes the "matrix media" that users live in today?

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What does "decoding" mean in regard to an audience viewing media content?

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What is the argument for the almost endless possibilities of resistance based on?

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Which is a well-known study that focused on the relationship between social structure and audience interpretation?