Watching television is an active process of interpretation rather than a passive process of 'assimilating information' because of the complex process involved in watching any scene, which combines the viewer's past experiences of television and the so-called 'real world', with their ability to understand subtle plot changes. But also, if for example the viewer was watching the news it would require them to understand the different formats of drama and more fact-based programmes. This is supported by Shapiro when he says:
Mentally processing television is a complex psychological task, even when viewing is ritualistically to be relaxed or to be distracted. Viewers must keep track of plots, characters and motivations to understand even the most mindless programme. (Shapiro, 1995)
One theory about the process which is used to interpret a television programme outlines the differing factors which could influence the interpretation. The first of these being who the viewer is watching the programme with, so that if, for example I was watching Neighbours with my friends I would be far more likely to laugh at the storylines, than if I was watching the programme alone. This also affects the place a person is watching in so that if, for example, Mary were watching a football match in a pub with her friends her response would be different from that if she were watching the same football match at her parents house with her mother and father. This is due to the different types of behaviour which are expected at different times and around different types of people. So that Mary would be less likely to be offended by a referee's decision with her family than if she had been with her friends. This therefore shows that if the viewers response is altered according to who they are watching with, then they must be doing more than simply 'assimilating information' .
If the viewer chooses to watch a specific programme and sets out to do so at a certain time then again their interpretation will be different than if they had simply put the programme on because there was nothing else to do. So that if someone - for example John - chose to watch the adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' (9/03/97, 8-10:10pm, Britain, ITV) he would have had a different interpretation to a person who simply had to watch the programme because they were studying the text. Their interpretations could well be different due to the fact that John may not have read the book and if he had it would probably not have been as critically as someone who was studying the text. This differing in the interpretation is also evident by the number of reasons for watching television which vary according to the time; programme; audience; who the viewer is watching with or what other options are available amongst other things. So that another person may have also been watching Jane Eyre in order to look at the class issues which affected Victorian society compared with Britain now and this again will be a totally different viewpoint. The reason that the viewer is watching the programme therefore does have a profound effect on their interpretation of it as does their mood at the time and this means that if the same programme was watched at different times when the viewer was happy or sad they could well interpret the same scene very differently. For example the ending of Jane Eyre could be seen by the happy viewer to be a happy ending as the couple end up together, but the unhappy viewer could see it as a sad ending because Mr Rochester loses part of his sight. The mood of the viewer would also contribute to their awareness of biases and therefore again affect the interpretation of the programme as well as whether the programme has the viewers' full attention or if they are watching whilst they are also doing something else. For example with This Morning (Britain, ITV, 10/03/97, 10:30am-12:20pm) which is often watched by homemakers who could well be at home with small children and therefore cannot give the television their full attention. This therefore supports the idea that people often watch out of habit as is shown by Chandler's comment about Barwise and Ehrenburg: "There is much evidence that media use is often habitual, ritualistic and unselective."(Chandler 1982)
This shows that the idea that watching T.V. in this case could be seen as passive as it could be simply on for company and therefore it is hard to see how any interpretation could be taking place. However it could still be argued that interpretation is occurring for the parent to be able to, however vaguely, follow what is going on.
This question of who chooses to watch the programme which is also raised by the quotation will also affect any interpretations of that programme so that if the viewer had the programme chosen for them then they may well be looking for flaws or simply not paying very much attention, unlike if they had specifically chosen to watch it. This is discussed by Morley when he says: "Uses and Gratification's theorists tend to exaggerate active and conscious choice, whereas media can be forced on some people rather than be freely chosen."(Morley, 1992). Morley goes on to discuss how people may not always interpret programmes saying:
This stance can also lead to the exaggeration of openness of interpretation, implying that audiences may obtain almost any kind of gratification regardless of content or 'preferred readings'. Its functional emphasis is fundamentally conservative: if we insist that people will always find some gratification from any use of media, we may adopt a completely uncritical stance towards what the mass media currently offer. (Morley 1992)
So that the argument that people always interpret the programmes they watch can be countered, although only partially, as a degree of interpretation must occur on some programmes. Morley's argument that certain types of media do not necessarily require interpretation can however be countered by the fact that the very basic interpretation of language must occur and so there must always be a certain amount of mental effort.
The build-up to the programme adds to the expectations of the viewer, and allows the process of interpretation to start before the programme has been seen because of trailers and critical reviews in the television guides, for example The Guardian wrote about Jane Eyre by saying: "Kay Mellor swaps Bradford's red light district for this highly-condensed adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's anguished classic about a governess' enduring passion for the compelling, but initially impenetrable, Mr Rochester."(08/03/97, The Guide in The Guardian pp69). This review implies that the viewer has some past knowledge of Kay Mellor's work but also by using such words as 'anguished', and 'enduring passion' it allows the viewer to imagine that the drama will be melodramatic. However the build-up is also added to by the continuity announcer as can be shown by the introduction to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? where the introduction to one showing on television was: "...And now on Central the sexiest and the dumbest rabbits in the world meet Bob Hoskins. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". This shows the way that a film is advertised before it is shown helps to sell the product by gaining the interest of people who would enjoy the film so that its audience is singled out. The start of the film also helps to set the atmosphere and along with the continuity announcers comments adds to the viewer's analysis of the film, so that at the start of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? there is big band music and very minimal credits before it goes into the normal start of a cartoon with cartoon credits which are actually part of the film. This change helps to keep the audience's attention because of the big change which occurs but it also helps to prepare them for the fact that this film is not totally a cartoon. Therefore concentration is required from the viewer in order to understand the plot so that information is not simply being taken in but also interpreted in order to understand the plot.
In television this process is complicated by the fact that advertisements often interrupt a film which may make it harder to follow the plot but also gives the viewer time to collect their thoughts in order to concentrate on the next part. So that in the case of drama series made specifically for television this can be used to keep the pressure on in the programme but also allowing the viewers to have a break. However the advertisements can also be used to continue the theme as they are often chosen to appeal to the type of audience who is watching the programme. This can be shown by Friends when Bohner and Walp said of the show:
In summary the appealing, pleasant atmosphere of Friends is contrasted by the 'unhealthy' presentation of uniform characters being submissively dependent upon the products advertised during the show. This dual concept is detrimental because the entertainment value of Friends may veil the attempt to create blind followers of consumerism. (Bohner and Walp 1996)
This shows the place which advertisements have in continuing the interpretation - for whatever reasons - of the programme for the viewer and therefore it again shows that the viewer is not just 'assimilating information' but actually involved in the complex process of interpreting it. However, this quotation could also be used to support the argument that in fact the viewer is just collecting information and this is why they are, according to the quotation, becoming dependent upon the products advertised. These two viewpoints can be combined however by the common view that although some of the interpretation is conscious a lot is not and therefore the fact that the viewers are arguably becoming dependent on the products advertised is still part of the interpretation process. The question of television affecting the behaviour of its viewers however can be supported by Bandura's doll experiment where the different children's behaviour was affected according to the different video which they watched.
The question of the genre which the programme falls into is also one which needs serious consideration as it will also affect the interpretation of the programme due to the personal ideas of the viewer. This allocation depends on, but also affects, the viewer's perception of the authorial style, narrative, setting, props, characters, dress codes as well as verbal codes, and the knowledge which the viewer has of the genre as well as the expectations they have. So that some-one who saw Casablanca for the first time may would have expectations because of their past experience of 1940s films as well as their general knowledge of the second world war and the film. This means that again they have already started to interpret the film before they have seen it and so, because of the information, they are using the information they have gathered on the topic to interpret the film. The question of whether it is part of a series or serial also adds to the understanding of the programme, because if the viewer is following the series then they come to the programme having already established a relationship with the central characters and so also having certain expectations of their behaviour which restricts the writers' powers to expand that character's behaviour beyond what would be expected. But also encourages the viewer to think more deeply when the character does do something out of character. So that the interpretation is actually enhanced meaning that in order to understand the programme the viewer has to process the information they have received.
The type of audience which the programme is aimed at is also relevant in understanding the programme so that as Friends is aimed at a younger audience, older viewers may not enjoy it as much or find it as funny as its target audience would. This would therefore affect the interpretation because the target audience would, if the programme is to be successful, understand the programme For example when in Friends Fun-Bobby is portrayed as a fun person but it then becomes evident that he is an alcoholic when the rest of the cast discover how much wine he has drunk during the evening. This then leads to Fun-Bobby being shown as being a very boring person without being drunk so that although the viewer is supposed to dismiss this as simply part of the humour it does send out the message that drinking alcohol makes you a more interesting person.
This episode of Friends also meant that you had to have seen previous episodes of the series in order to know who Fun-Bobby was and to follow the on-going jokes in the programme. However, the structure of the episode meant that you had to have seen the start of the programme in order to understand the difference in the character by the end. But, it did make it easy to predict sequences in the programme, such as when Monica is accused of having a drink problem too, therefore showing that the viewer must be able to interpret the programme in order to understand and anticipate the events, and to understand the themes and issues which run through the programme. The actual characters involved in the story also add to the interpretation as a feeling of affinity with one character which may be intentional on the part of the script-writer as for example with the character of Angela in My So Called Life (Channel Four, America) or unintentional. This changes the viewer's reading of the programme and means that different viewers' will have different interpretations, but because the affinity exists means that some interpretation of the characters' personalities and actions must have taken place in order for the viewer to identify with this character. This will be affected by the way in which the character is presented and therefore the production and editing of the programme will affect the interpretation.
The quotation - "These findings suggest that audiences in general, and young people in particular, are far more involved and mentally active when watching T.V. than has been previously thought."(ERIC Digest 1995) - shows that it is generally accepted that interpretation of all television programmes does take place to some degree. However, the extent of these depends upon the person involved as well as outside factors such as whether the viewer is alone or has chosen to watch the programme. But, how this interpretation occurs is disputed according to different theorists and psychologists. For example O'Reilly and Splaine (1987) have produced a critical model, but Shapiro (1995) has produced a critical model too, although it can be said that they each contain relatively similar points which I have outlined above. Therefore, watching T.V. is an active process of interpretation rather than a passive process of ' assimilating information' because of the number of factors involved in understanding the programme and following (the plot of ) the content of the programme.
References
April 1997