Reception Theory

 1) What is the preferred reading of a media text?

The preferred reading of a media text is how the producers want the audience to view the media text.

2) What is the oppositional reading of a media text?

The oppositional reading of a media text is when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own meaning for the media text.

3) How does the Harry Brown trailer position the audience to respond to the teenage characters in the film?

The Harry Brown trailer positions the audience to responding to the teenagers as violent,aggressive and belligerent.

4) Why might young people reject this reading and construct an oppositional reading of the trailer?

Young people may reject this reading and construct an oppositional one because not all young people are violent and brutal and it may make them look bad to other people because of the preferred reading.

5) Write a 150+ word analysis of the McDonald's advert using preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings

 Preferred reading:

The producers included loads of adjectives when describing what's inside the burger like the cheese,lettuce,pickle and bun to entice the audience and make them hungry and want to try the burger. They also do this by including a picture of the burger in the advert to convince the audience that it looks good and that it will taste good as well. The producers also only describe the most healthy things in the burger (cheese,bun,lettuce,pickles) to try and keep the audience away from the idea of salt, fat and the acids that are in it. The producers also try to convince the audience that the burger is somewhat healthy by saying "A meal disguised as a sandwich" which might make the audience believe that this burger is just as healthy as a sandwich but tastes and looks better which might convince the audience to start buying the Big Mac instead of sandwiches.

Negotiated reading: 

  The audience may believe the producers and buy this burger believing it is healthy and and also maybe because of the fact that they are hungry and that the burger appealed to them, the way it looked despite the sodium and fat in it. However, some people may already know that every burger by a fast food chain has some sort of fat and sodium in it especially McDonald's which can easily lead to obesity and some people may want to stay healthy and in shape so they would reject the idea of eating this burger as they believe it is not healthy.

Oppositional reading:

Audiences reject this advert as it clearly tries to promote the burger as healthy but fails as the audience may already know that McDonald's barely does any 100% healthy food and knows how much burgers contain fat and sodium which causes them to believe this option is not healthier than a sandwich like they say it is. Also some audiences are vegetarian/ vegan which can offend them as they can't eat this burger due to the meat in the burger as well as cheese and other non-vegan products in this burger.

Preferred reading;

The producers in this advert are indicating that these drinks are healthy and good for kids that go to school. This may appeal to the target audience that have children themselves as they may believe this advert that this drink is just natural juice and water which is healthy for kids. This advert is also targeted at little kids due to the size of the bottles and the animated faces on the fruits and jug of water. The "100% naturally sourced ingredients" sign may convince parents that this drink is actually healthy and is 100% pure fruit and water.

Negotiated reading:

The audience may believe the producers and buy these drinks believing these drinks are good and healthy for their kids because they want their kids to be healthy and to drink pure made drinks. However, some people may see that every juice has sugar in it and it's impossible for the juice to be 100% healthy and sourced from natural ingredients fully. 

Oppositional reading:

Audiences reject this idea as it clearly is trying to promote these drinks as healthy, good for kids and 100% sourced from natural ingredients but fails as the audience may already know about the sugar these drinks contain and how it can be artificially made and not natural fruit even though on the packaging it might say it's sourced from natural ingredients some parents or people can't be tricked into believing this and may prefer to give their kids something a lot more healthy like homemade juice or water than giving them something that has loads of sugar.