Tuesday 30 June 2015

Textual Analysis 3 - Happy by Pharrell Williams.

Stuart Hall's reception theory suggests that audiences decode the producers meaning depending on their cultural view points and experiences. 

Hall's reception theory can be applied to 'Happy'. This theory is relevant to this music video, as I have a negotiated view on it. The dancing around the street, I feel, fits with the song well, as it literally shows people being happy, which is the message being portrayed. However, I also disagree with the message, as I find it repetitive and annoying. Furthermore, the producer has however, successfully got their message across to the audience, as most of people watching this video are 'happy' afterwards. 
A completely oppositional view can be taken on the music video, as it was done so in Iran. The Iranian government forbids women being unveiled in public and dancing with members of the opposite sex. However, due to the popularity of the song, many recreations have been made with the title 'Happy from..', which led to one being made in Iran. The Iranian government didn't agree with this music video, or the recreation one, and therefore took an oppositional approach. This therefore demonstrates how each different audience member can take a different approach and agree or disagree with something.
Gauntlett's theory of 'Media 2.0' is also applicable, as demonstrated when people around the world began creating their own 'Happy in...' videos, some of which went viral. This allows the audience to engage and interact with people globally. Therefore the theory of the content being abundant, is applicable here, as it's cheap and easy for fans to create their own media. The distribution being abundant of the happy video is true, due to the video being shared globally, and the video being distributed through social media instantly.


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