This document summarizes several narrative and audience theories in media studies. It discusses Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium and return to a new equilibrium. It also covers Levi Strauss's theory of binary oppositions and Roland Barthes' narrative codes including the hermeneutic and proairetic codes. For audience theory, it outlines Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of dominant, negotiated and oppositional readings. It also summarizes uses and gratification theory and criticisms of the hypodermic needle model which views audiences as passive.

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Theories
Table of Contents
Narrative Theory ................................................................................................................ 2
Tzvetan Todorov.........................................................................................................................................................3
A state of equilibrium............................................................................................................................................3
A disruption of that order by an event...........................................................................................................3
A recognition that the disorder has occurred.............................................................................................3
An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption..................................................................................3
A return or restoration of the new equilibrium..........................................................................................3
Levi Strauss ...................................................................................................................................................................5
Binary Oppositions.................................................................................................................................................5
Roland Barthes.............................................................................................................................................................6
The Hermeneutic code (HER)............................................................................................................................6
The Proairectic code (ACT).................................................................................................................................7
Audience Theory................................................................................................................. 8
Stuart Hall’s Reception theory ..............................................................................................................................9
Dominant/ Hegemonic position.......................................................................................................................9
Negotiated position............................................................................................................................................10
Oppositional position.........................................................................................................................................10
Uses and Gratification theory.............................................................................................................................11
Heuristic approach of UGT...............................................................................................................................11
Criticisms................................................................................................................................................................12
Hypodermic needle model...................................................................................................................................13
Criticisms................................................................................................................................................................13

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Narrative Theory
Todorov  Equilibrium , disequilibrium, new equilibrium
Levi Strauss  Binary opposites
Roland Barthers  Enigma Codes
Propps Characters/roles often found in narrative

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Tzvetan Todorov
He is a Bulgarian- French historian, philosopher, structuralist literary critic,
sociologist and essayist. He was awarded an achievement for his work in Narrative
Studies. He also talks about the complexity of his theory of Equilibrium and
Disequilibrium.
Todorov believed that all films followed 5 narrative patterns, which included
 Equilibrium
 Disequilibrium
 Acknowledgement
 Solving
 New Equilibrium, but is different from the first
A state of equilibrium
Equilibrium is a state in which opposing influences are balance or there is a calm
state.
A disruption of that order by an event
This includes a disturbance which interrupts the equilibrium in the film.
A recognition that the disorderhas occurred
Realization which is when the main character becomes aware of an event or accepts
the situation as fact.
An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
This stage is when the main character attempts to bring back the equilibrium or
return to normality.
A return or restoration of the new equilibrium
This stage occurs when the new equilibrium is established, which is the film has
solved the problem, however the new equilibrium is not identical to the original
equilibrium.
Notes
This narrative is seen as a circular structure due to the main character wanted to
return back to the equilibrium.

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The narrative involves a transformation as the disequilibrium brings about a change
in character and situations progress the character development. Which is why the
new equilibrium is different from the original as the main character often loses a
characteristic or matures from surviving the events.
The disruption process is different from the lifestyle of the characters, often harsh
or the main character having a loss in the lifestyle which allows them to want to get
back to the equilibrium.

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Levi Strauss
Claude Levi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist who developed the
theory of structuralism and structural anthropology.
Binary Oppositions
A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in
meaning.
Levi Strauss theory on binary opposition talks about how narrative can be split into
opposites, such as Good and Evil, Man and Woman, Rich and Poor, etc. Due to having
these opposites, when together it creates the conflict in the narrative story and this
becomes the central climax.
What Lévi-Strauss believed he had discovered when he examined the relations
between mythemes was that a myth consists of juxtaposed binary oppositions.
Notes
 Binary Opposites are usually the basis of our understanding of a story as it is
a conventional narrative and enables an equilibrium.
 Are used in films to help plots and in music videos as part of narrative to
reinforce song lyrics
 The theory links heavily with our ideological values of how we feel we should
‘perceive’ the world.

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Roland Barthes
Roland Gerard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic
and semiotician.
Barthes established five major codes for determining the significance of text. The
codes led him to define the narrative story as having a capacity for plurality of
meaning(different meanings) however they are limited by their dependence of
logical elements(timeline). Barthes believes that a narrative text is reversible or
open to many interpretations.
The five specific codes show that literacy text reflects structures that are
interwoven and shows the plurality of a text. Barthes believes the reader is an active
producer of the interpretations compared to the hypodermic needle which states
they are passive consumers.
Two specific codes are logical and structure the text in an irreversible way.
The Hermeneutic code (HER)
Refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and becomes a mystery
to the reader. This is done to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma until
the final scene. Unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience.
As the story is not explained the full truth is avoided and this is done deliberately.
Enigma Code
Enigma meaning mystery or a puzzle. The Enigma code is a theory that suggest a
text portrays a mystery to draw and audience in, allowing the audience to think of
question and intrigues them. The enigma code is a theory that suggests a text in
media portrays a mystery to draw the audience in.
The Voice of Truth
Denotes an enigma that moves the narrative forward. This sets up delays and
obstacles that main suspense.
Associated with enigmas of text, puzzles and mysteries. The text may or may not
answer these, but will defer and misdirect the answer allowing the reader guessing.
Process of revealing truth follows
1. Thematisation. What in the narrative is an enigma?
2. Positioning. Additional confirmations of the enigma.
3. Formulation of the enigma.
4. Promise of an answer of the enigma.
5. Fraud. Circumvention of the true answer.
6. Equivocation. Mixture of fraud and truth.
7. Blocking. The enigma cannot be solved.
8. Suspended answer. Stopping the answering after having begun.
9. Partial answer. Some facets of the truth are revealed.
10. Disclosure of the truth.

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Involving a move from a question to an answerirreversible, once secret is
revealed that is the moment of cognition which is permanent.
The Proairectic code (ACT)
Builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is
going to happen allowing the reader to predict what will happen in the future. It
contains sequential elements of action in text adding to the suspense.
Both the Hermeneutic and Proairetic codes work as a pair to develop the story
tension.
The Voice of Empirics
Organizes intertwined sequences of behaviors. In each sequence, there is
regularity that does not follow logic of narrative.
Proairectic code encompasses the actions or small sequences of the narrative
tension. It creates a small structure of narrative tension and expectation thus the
whole narrative has a forward drive. It is connected to the readerly text which the
reader assimilates distinct pieces of information in a prescribed order.

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Audience Theory
 Stuarts Hall reception theory
 Uses and Gratification theory
 Hypodermic needle theory

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Stuart Hall’s Reception theory
Stuarts Halls reception theory revolves around the encoding and decoding of
communication created in 1973 by Stuart Hall. The media are presented with
messages that are decoded or interpreted in different ways depending on the
following
 Cultural background
 Economic standing
 Personal experiences
Hall believes that the audience members can play an active role in decoding
messages as they rely on their own social contexts and interpreting the message
through collective action.
Encoding/decoding is the translation of a message that the audience understands
from the media that makes sense to them.
Encoding is the production of the message
Decoding is how the audience is able to understand and interpret the message.
Four stages
Production Encoding happens, construction of a message begins
Circulation How individuals perceive things, visual vs written
Usedistribution/consumption, message to be adopted and interpreted on beliefs
ReproductionIndividuals take action after exposed to the message
Verbal and Nonverbal forms
 Verbal= words, signs, images, and video
 Non-verbal =Decoding behavior without using words- body language, hand
gestures, facial expressions, and emotions
Process
Obtaining absorbing understanding use of information(verbal/nonverbal)
Stuart Hall has differentiated this to be three different positions
Dominant/ Hegemonic position
The position is one where the consumer takes the actual meaning directly and
decodes it exactly the way it was encoded. The ideas are hegemonic interpretations
hence them becoming dominant. The dominant code involves taking connotative
meanings in the exact way the sender/media intended the message to be
interpreted. The target audience is located within the dominant point of view which
lets them share, accepts and reproduces the intended meaning. There is little to
none misunderstanding of the text due to the audience and media having the same
cultural biases.

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Negotiated position
This position is a mixture of accepting and rejecting elements. The audience
acknowledges the dominant message but does not willingly accept fully the message
the media intended. The audience to an extent shares and accepts the preferred
meaning but resists and modifies it bases it on their own experiences and interests.
The audience understands the dominant position and believes in it but their
situation allows them to create their conditions or rules to coexist with the
dominant position.
Oppositional position
This is when the audience can understand the literal (denotative) and connotative
meaning of the media while decoding the message in a global way. The audience
recognizes that their interpretation of the message is not the dominant meaning and
alters the media to fit their mindset or preference. This makes the audiences view
to be in direct opposition to the dominant code, even if they understand the
meaning they do not share the texts code and reject it. The audience personal
experience will influence them to take the oppositional position when they take in
the dominant position.

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Uses and Gratification theory
Uses and gratifications theory is an approach too understanding why and how
people actively seek out specific media to satisfy their needs. It is an audience
centered approach to understand the mass or dominant communication. Taking a
positive approach and is based on socio psychological. It discusses how the audience
chooses media that satisfy given needs for example
1. Knowledge
2. Relaxation
3. Social interaction/ Companionship
4. Diversion
5. Escape
It assumes that audience members are not passive consumers of media as they have
the power over their media consumption taking an active role in interpreting and
using it in their lives. The audience is responsible for choosing their media to meet
their desires and needs to achieve gratification.
The theory assumes that the consumer has power to choose what media they
consume and have a clear intent on how they use this.
 The audience is active and its media use is goal oriented
 The audience can link the gratification to a specific medium
 The media compete with other resources for the need satisfaction
 People have self-awareness of their media use to be able provide researchers
with an accurate of that use
 Value judgments of media content can only be assessed by the media
Heuristic approach of UGT
The approach is both social and psychological. There are five approaches
1. The audience is conceived as active.
2. In the mass communication process, much initiative in linking gratification
and media choice lies with the audience member.
3. The media compete with other sources of satisfaction.
4. Methodologically speaking, many of the goals of mass media use can be
derived from data supplied by individual audience members themselves.
5. Value judgments about the cultural significance of mass communication
should be suspended while audience orientations are explored on their own
terms.
The goals for the audience to get out of media
 be informed or educated
 identify with characters of the situation in the media environment
 simple entertainment
 enhance social interaction
 escape from the stresses of daily life

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Criticisms

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Hypodermic needle model
The hypodermic needle model is a model of communication suggesting that an
intended message is received and accepted by the audience. It suggests the media
injects the message intended straight to the passive audience then the audience is
affected by the media which is shown through their actions.
Concepts
Audience cannot resist the message from media and creates a uniform thinking
among the audience.
Audience is viewed as vulnerable as the message given by the media is dominant.
There is also no other source of media to compare the medias message to.
The theory is based on assumptions and encourages instincts and reactions.
Features of Hypodermic Needle Theory
 Humans are believed to act uniformly to their stimuli and instincts.
 Media injects or inserts messages into the people's brain as propaganda and
manipulation like that by a bullet or syringe.
 Messages have their own intention and are sent to get desired outcomes.
 The effect of messages is supposed to be encompassing, strong, immediate
and dangerous.
 Messages are supposed to create public opinion and change behavior of the
audiences.
 Mass of people is made to think in a similar way by the media.
 The audience is always thought to be vulnerable and passive.
Criticisms 