Law and Order is a television show that encodes a message about the American criminal justice system to its viewers. When viewers watch the program, they decode a particular message.
If one were to watch an episode of Law and Order: SVU, Stuart Hall would say the message encoded into the show is that the crimes committed by sexual offenders are especially heinous. In fact, in the opening of the show, this message is specifically narrated. However, the ideology perceived by the audience (the message they decode) may be different intended by the minds behind the show.
Hall would say that some people would have a dominant reading of the show, meaning that these people would fully accept the ideology about sex offenders the show is trying to relay. Others would have a negotiated reading, in which the accept some of the basic tenets of the encoded message but modify the message to reflect their own point of view. In the case of Law and Order, a negotiated reading might be that sex offenders do commit heinous crimes, but sex offenders can’t just be anybody; they all fit into one demographic composed of minorities from low socio-economic backgrounds. Hall would say that others, still, would have a oppositional reading in which they disagree entirely with the dominant reading. An oppositional reading of Law and Order might be that sex crimes should not be punishable under the law (absurd as that may sound).
Hall would say that the ideology accepted by the audience would be diverse. He would also say that social factors would affect one’s reading. For example, a person who has done time in prison and interacted with convicted sex offenders may have a different reading than a mother whose child has been a victim of a sex offender. Factors such as race, gender, socio-economic background, etc. would all affect how a viewer would perceive an episode of Law and Order.
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