Media Theory Incorporation!
For my project, I want to use Stuart Hall's Reception Theory of Negotiated reading which is where audiences are active consumers of media and can perceive a media text in one of three ways:
-Dominant or preferred reading: audience with accept intentions of content creator
-Oppositional reading: audience will reject intended meaning of content creator and will make their own reading
-Negotiated reading: audience will blend the two - accept some intentions and reject others
A negotiated reading fits my scene really well because I’m setting it up so the audience will agree with some of what I’m showing them but still question other parts, which is the whole point. People will probably accept that my main character is dealing with mental health struggles like when I show the plain therapist’s office, her shaky voice, and the way she hesitates about taking her medication all allow audiences to believe so. But once she gets home and the weird stuff starts happening, like the TV talking straight to her or the spoon showing up outside and then appearing back in the bowl, the audience won’t be totally sure everything is just in her head.
Instead, maybe they’ll mix the two ideas together like "yes, she isn't mentally okay but maybe also something strange is actually happening around her too and she isn't really just seeing things." That blend of “i believe this part” and “i’m not so sure about that part” is exactly what creates a negotiated reading, because viewers accept some of my intended meaning while still forming their own interpretation of what’s real and what isn't. I hope I am able to achieve this sensation of confusion and mystery for the audience because I want to keep them on edge at all times. To achieve this, I want to emphasize her emotions on specific parts but not all parts so then audiences are confused as to how or why she feels a certain way when something "real" or "just in her head" is happening.
For example, the movie "Don't Worry Darling" uses this theory because the audience understands the main message but still adds their own ideas to it. Most people agree that the movie is showing how the Victory town is controlling and fake, and that Alice is trapped in a world that looks perfect but really isn’t. But at the same time, viewers question different parts of the story. People accept the basic message, but they also mix in their own thoughts about what the movie is really trying to say. That mix of agreeing with some parts and rethinking others is exactly how the movie uses negotiated reading.
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