1. MEP 203 CONTEMPORARY MEDIA THEORY
4. STRUCTURALISM AND SEMIOTICS

2. What is structuralism?
A body of theory on how society is structured/shaped by systems of codes
Language
Politics
Fashion
Sport
Taste, and so on...

3. What about semiotics?
A method used to DECODE the codes that structure our social lives
A synchronic analysis of these codes, also known as SIGNS [sr + sd = sign]
Semiotics considers 2 dimensions to any system of signs (Saussure 1974):
1. Langue – the whole system of rules
2. Parole – a sign that is part of system

4. Structuralism and youth subcultures
TEDS
MODS
PUNKS
RAVERS
CLOTHES
Suits
Smart casual
Homemade
Baggy
OBJECTS
Cigars
Scooters
Dog collars
Whistles
DRUGS
Tobacco
LSD
Dope
Ecstasy
SLANG
“Spiv”
“About town”
“Piss off”
“Buzzin”

5. Hebdige’s Subculture (1979)
Used semiotics to read the systems of codes expressed by youth groups
A subculture operates through a system of codes which offend the majority, threaten the status quo, contradict the “myth of consensus” (p. 18)
HOMOLOGY – the symbolic fit between values and lifestyles

6. Hall (1999), Encoding/Decoding
Media producers ENCODE the texts they produce within a professional code (political, commercial, technical, etc.)
Audiences DECODE these texts in 3 ways:
1. Dominant/preferred code
2. Negotiated code
3. Oppositional code

7. Morley (1980), The ‘Nationwide’ Audience
Used Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model to interpret audience focus-group responses:
1. Preferred decodings – bank managers, apprentices (trainee labourers)
2. Negotiated decodings – uni students, trade union officials
3. Oppositional decodings – FE students, shopkeepers

8. Conclusions Structuralist theories interpret CODES
Media texts (such as TV programmes) hold meanings in how they are made (ENCODED) and received (DECODED)
However… encoded media messages are decoded in POLYSEMIC ways
Do Hall and Morley underestimate the complexity of audience decodings?