What are the three possible readings in Hall’s model?

• A. Dominant reading
• B. Dominant, Negotiated, and Oppositional readings
• C. Negotiated reading
• D. Oppositional reading

Answer: (B)

Audiences decode media messages in more than one way rather than simply taking them at face value. In Hall’s model, there are three main readings that a viewer might produce from the same text. The dominant reading accepts the message as intended by the producers and aligns with the ideology embedded in the text. The negotiated reading partly agrees but adjusts the meaning to fit the viewer’s own situation or to acknowledge some limits in the message. The oppositional reading understands the intended meaning but actively resists or rejects the ideology, decoding the message in a way that opposes what the text is trying to promote. These readings show how a single TV drama can be interpreted as supportive, contested, or critical of its underlying ideas, depending on the viewer’s context.