Media proliferation is putting pressure on advertisers and content creators to understand the impact of medium choice on the audience. The target population encodes communication from the different forms distinctively and may assign various meanings to the same message. The objective of this paper is to discuss messages in a film, podcast, and magazine issue. Particularly, the illustrative film used for the essay is Beauty in the Broken, The Seann Hannity Show Constitution Wins Podcast aired on June 23rd, and the Elle Magazine. Although the content creators determine the message feature in a media, the audience interpretation is always influenced by the medium.
Film
The content in the film is unique due to its different ways of sending signals and structure. Notably, while watching a film, the audience gets cues from the actions, costumes, words, and music. In addition, movies have storylines that people can follow and relate to the characters. Each scene has unique visual cues, so even if the movie is mute, information is passed across to those watching. The implication is that the viewers personalize the message as they dive into the emotions of the actors. Communication in the film medium is a creative configuration that produces accurate observation of occurrences when obsolete. Interestingly, films allow people to read cubic pictures with dramatic patterns per the focal point, color, texture, and lighting.
The “message” of the message is the central theme that the director is passing across. For example, the central message in the movie Beauty in the Broken is dignifying people with mental health challenges such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, other minor messages include love and romance, grieving, and restoration. The ideological perspective is a busy world where people are going about their errands, yet there are people with psychological challenges. The deeper meaning is conveyed through the characterization of the actors (majority are battling a psychiatric condition) or working in a mental health institution. The choice of film help conveys the deeper meaning due to the dramatization of the theme in real-life scenery.
Stuart Hall’s theory of representation is about the ability of people to imagine or make a description from content. The model posits that representation is vital since culture is always formed through language (connoting a symbolic form) and meaning (Robb 65). For instance, while watching the movie, Pele is portrayed as a creative young woman with a great potential cut short when she was raped. While seeing the movie, I related to her creativeness since I am talented and believe that if I get the proper reinforcement, as she did, I will become great. Motion pictures, like film, have worldwide reachability making them the best medium for promoting social awareness.
Hall’s theory of message encoding and decoding proposes that viewers play a significant role in interpreting content. They rely on their social context and may twist the intended meaning through collective action (Robb 72). In this case, before the intended message affects the viewers, they must first appropriate a meaningful discourse and encoding. People use codes and structure to understand the theme. For instance, in the movie’s opening scene, David goes to a hotel but walks away to visit a cemetery because he sees two lovebirds (Beauty in the Broken). The audience can decode that he is mourning a person he loved and died. The aspect of my personality that aid in decoding the message is being imaginative and interpreting each scene based on interactions of words, drama, lighting, and color.
Magazine
Magazines are unique advertising print media for consumer and industrial needs. They provide entertainment, convey information, and meet business needs to create brand or product awareness. Magazines give room for presenting detailed marketing messages along with colorful illustrations. The medium targets specific audiences who know the content they will get from the magazine. For example, Elle magazine is known for fashion advertisements. Therefore, the medium determines the information that its brand portrays.
It is essential to understand the central message amidst the many cues a magazine presents. For example, the key message on the selected page “black is back” (figure 1) is that the people with dark skin are now being recognized in the fashion industry. Noteworthy, the magazine used portraits of some Instagram icons with many followers to pass the news that African women are super. The deeper meaning is portrayed by showing how ordinary black girls build huge communities on Instagram. The form helps in creating the intended meaning by giving a reality that readers can confirm.
Hall’s representation theory is evident in the message portrayed in the magazine. For instance, the six women are supposed to exemplify the rising of black women in the fashion industry. Notably, the audience should interpret their faces as complementing the tag line “black is back.” The aspect of my personality that I feel is portrayed in the message is superiority because I am resilient and always emerge stronger even when I have failed.
Hall’s theory of decoding and encoding mental stigma helps in making interpretation of new information. The role of Elle Magazine is to advertise and update audience on fashion. Yet, the content on “Black is Back” received a backlash because people interpreted it as only accepting African women when they started to succeed. One of the accusations was that the magazine had been in existence for a long time but only focused on white models. Moreover, even now that they recognize the dark-skinned women, they still do not portray them professionally (Elle: Black is Back). The implication is that the audience decoded the message negatively even though the author intended to praise it. The media portrayal of beauty influenced by some aspects of my personality. Specifically, I felt that Elle magazine still does not acknowledge the beauty in black, which is why they use the word super.
Podcast
Podcasts are a series of audios based on a specific theme and can be listened to from computers or smartphones. Attention and following the content from the beginning are crucial for this form. The rationale is that the message is often persuasive and reveals factual data or stories in beat. For example, the Sean Hannity show follows emerging news that conflicts with the constitution and tries to bring a perspective (Hannity). The lack of visual representation in podcasts implies that the audience must concentrate to get the message.
The main message is the relevance of disproving the people who show no regard to the constitution. For instance, in the Sean Hannity podcast “Constitution Wins,” Hannity affirms the Supreme decision to protect the 2nd amendment law against Liberal New Yorkers. Notably, the issue was contentious, implying that there must be appealing to reason, emotions, and ethics for the listeners to concede. The ideology uses a person with perceived integrity and authority in American law to come and break down the legal content for the common citizens. The main issue is the rule of law, and the subtext is connoted by the specific supreme court case. Thus the more profound meaning is portrayed, mainly from the voice of the host and his ability to defend his stance.
Regarding Hall’s representation theory, the voice in a podcast is symbolic of an image. A podcast is almost like a one-man show where the central figure is the host. The message is portrayed by both Sean, and the content is backed up with the facts. As a citizen of this county, listening to the podcast motivates me to stand firm in defending the constitution. I feel it is my civic duty to not only obey the rights and freedoms but also teach others to have respect for the constitution.
Encoding and decoding of messages in a podcast are done against the backdrop of related news. Relative to Hall’s theory, the podcast’s audience must be familiar with the 2nd Amendment law and its limitations in the United States. Moreover, many of the audience must have some background knowledge about the case. When listening to the podcast, they reflect and compare the information they already have to decide whether to accept Sean’s argument or dismiss it. I am critical and love debating, which implies that I interpret the message from the point of critique and counterchecks all information to determine that they are free from fallacies before accepting the message.
In summary, the medium generates effects that are distinct from the message. A person watching a film has many signals of getting the themes but must look at the overarching meaning. Conversely, a person reading through a magazine while viewing the images gets a different perspective from the brand. For podcasts, listening and following up on the series while getting familiarized with the source of discussion is relevant in decoding. Thus, the form is vital in conveying a message to any audience.
Works Cited
Beauty in the Broken. Directed by Max Leonida, Summer Hill, 2015.
“Elle: Black is Back.” Elle Magazine, 2019.
Hannity, Sean. “Constitution Wins.” The Sean Hannity Show, 2022, Google Podcasts.
Robb, Michael. Making Media Literacy in America. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.