How Media Shapes Reality: The Battle of Narratives in the Hong Kong Protests

   17 November 2024  Leave a Comment on How Media Shapes Reality: The Battle of Narratives in the Hong Kong Protests  Posted in 3. ‘Manufacturing Consent’ Or ‘Ideas of encoding and decoding’

Stuart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how media messages are produced and received. According to this theory, media producers encode information with specific meanings, while audiences decode it based on their cultural and social backgrounds.

The Hong Kong protests, as a complex social event, have been interpreted in diverse ways by various media outlets, and the differences in the decoding process of the audiences are also presented.

Encoding: Multiple Interpretations by Different Media Outlets

Different media have coded the Hong Kong protests differently based on their respective positions and goals, shaping different narratives according to their own bays and perspectives

From Hunan Daily New Media
  • Chinese media: Described the protesters’ actions as “serious criminal offenses,” emphasizing the damage to public property and calling for the protection of law and order.
  • Western Media: Framed the event as “an extreme expression of discontent,” emphasizing the protesters’ grievances and the government’s failure to address their concerns.

Decoding: Diverse Interpretations by Audiences

Stuart Hall (1980) points out when receiving media messages, audiences interpret them based on their cultural background and personal experiences, leading to different understandings

  • Dominant Decoding: Some audiences fully accept the media’s intended message. For example, those influenced by Chinese state media may view the protests as a threat to social stability and support the government’s response.

  • Negotiated Decoding: Some audiences partially agree with the media’s message but adapt it to fit their own views. For instance, Western viewers might support the protesters’ democratic goals but criticize any violence.

  • Oppositional Decoding: Other audiences completely reject the media’s message. For example, pro-protest Hong Kong residents may see Chinese state media as biased and dismiss their portrayal of the protests.

    • In summary, Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding theory shows how media messages are created with specific meanings and interpreted differently by audiences based on their cultural and social backgrounds. The Hong Kong protests highlight this process, as different media outlets shape the story in ways that influence how people understand and react—either fully accepting, negotiating, or rejecting the message. This emphasizes the media’s impact on shaping public perception and the complexity of communication.

    Reference List：

    BBC. (2019, July 2). Hong Kong violence escalates, intense clashes between police and protesters. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-48836238

    BBC. (2019, August 14). Hong Kong airport protests: Order restored, what is the protester’s “international line”?. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/uk-49346772

    Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/Decoding in the Television Discourse. In S. Hall et al. (Eds.), Culture, Media, Language. Routledge.

    Herman, E., & Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon Books.

    VOA (Voice of America). (2022, July 1). Hong Kong July 1st protest banned for the 3rd consecutive year, mixed reactions from residents. Retrieved from https://www.voachinese.com/a/hong-kong-reactions-to-july-1st-protest-banned-for-the-3rd-consecutive-years-20220701/6641476.html

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