Viewer Interpretation Research Articles

Same Data, Diverging Perspectives: The Power of Visualizations to Elicit Competing Interpretations.

People routinely rely on data to make decisions, but the process can be riddled with biases. We show that patterns in data might be noticed first or more strongly, depending on how the data is visually represented or what the viewer finds salient. We also demonstrate that viewer interpretation of data is similar to that of 'ambiguous figures' such that two people looking at the same data can come to different decisions. In our studies, participants read visualizations depicting competitions between two entities, where one has a historical lead (A) but the other has been gaining momentum (B) and predicted a winner, across two chart types and three annotation approaches. They either saw the historical lead as salient and predicted that A would win, or saw the increasing momentum as salient and predicted B to win. These results suggest that decisions can be influenced by both how data are presented and what patterns people find visually salient.

Rewriting Sharon Tate's History in Once Upon A Time in … Hollywood

ABSTRACTAn examination of how director Quentin Tarantino rewrites the history of the Tate‐Labianca murders in the film Once Upon A Time in… Hollywood. By revising history and creating an alternate timeline where actress Sharon Tate is not murdered by Manson Family cultists, Tarantino is, in effect, also offering up a commentary on Hollywood itself. My essay will look at the artistic ramifications of these changes and how it affects viewer interpretations.

Nie tylko biurko i pióro – rekwizyty w filmach biograficznych o życiu Jane Austen

The following text begins with an introduction that discusses (relevant for the subsequent argument) issues related to biotopic and the role of props in the context of the discussed films. The subsequent part of the argument focuses on the significance of props (such as a desk, a quill, a letter, and a book) in Becoming Jane (2007, dir. Julian Jarrold) and Miss Austen Regrets (2008, dir. Jeremy Lovering). The analysis explores the situation where these objects convey specific information encrypted by the directors, while also allowing for viewer interpretations regarding their functions. The text argues that although it is not possible to present the “truth” about the writer’s life, one can still attempt to know and understand her world, and the props depicted in the films play a significant role in this process.

Visual depictions of the Rohingya crisis: Exodus, cultural othering, genocidal aggression and audience aversion to graphic portrayals

The Rohingya people of Myanmar (formerly Burma) have been described by the UN as the ‘most persecuted ethnic group in the world’. Yet despite recognition of the Rohingya’s attempted eradication as a genocide, this humanitarian crisis is rarely the subject of intensive news coverage and largely flies under the radar of international media. When the Rohingya’s plight does appear in the news, media coverage tends to portray this religious and ethnic minority as a displaced people fleeing their native Myanmar rather than depicting the reality of genocide and the gruesome visual truth of systematic, violent elimination. To document how an ongoing genocide is visually framed in news and understood by audiences, this article develops an inventory of visual frames used in coverage about the crisis, then employs a ‘picture prompt’ method of soliciting responses from viewers to document how these frames are received and interpreted. Analysis of 2132 responses from 533 online participants reveals stark differences in viewer evaluations of more graphic portrayals compared to mundane depictions of the crisis. The study summarizes the consequences that viewer interpretations of images of conflict and mass displacement can have for humanitarian support and perceptions of event severity.

Projection and Reception of Film: A Reciprocal Ethics

Filmmakers begin their work with an empty screen in the same way that artists approach a blank canvas. The implied intention is to create a work that will evoke emotion, thought and reflection. As both film and art have developed, so have the ways in which the screen or canvas is populated. As technology has developed so have methods of transferring the intention. Likewise, there have been adaptations in the way viewers, absorbed in moving images on the screen, interpret the images from moment to moment, ultimately, as a composite work, and from their particular point of view. This article examines certain ethical aspects of watching film with regard to three relevant film innovations, namely: classical Hollywood narrative, modern auteur film, and a comparison between the experience of contemporary viewing, with its access to new technological platforms on the one hand, and viewers’ experience of the very earliest film on the other. The discussion incorporates some thoughts on the Greek philosopher Plato's Allegory of The Cave, which is presented in his work The Republic, where he interrogates how reality and knowledge are mediated according to the point of view from which the images projected onto the wall of the cave are viewed and interpreted. With reference to watching images in film, the article proposes three points of viewer interpretation that affect their experience of reality and knowledge which include the ethics of familiarity (routine viewer), the ethics of expectation (customised viewer), and the ethics of the medium (novel viewer).

Finding yourself in Lost: Viewer interpretation of the series through reader response

The popular American television series Lost (2004–10) gained notoriety and a cult following for its interwoven storylines and numerous mysteries that permeated the series. However, despite the expansive amount of research that has examined and analysed the series, relatively little has explored the way viewers interpreted the series based on their respective academic, philosophical or religious backgrounds. With that in mind, the current research argues that rather than containing definitive meaning, Lost’s success is due in part to its permutability with regard to how the show could be read by viewers. As one of the ground-breaking and iconic series of the twenty-first century, it is important to understand how Lost’s approach to storytelling allowed the show to thrive in the contemporary television landscape and the impact it may have on how television is made in the future.

Knowledge, power and the ethics illusion: Explaining diverse viewer interpretations of the politics in classic era Doctor Who

Abstract What is the dominant political ideology of Doctor Who (1963–89, 1996, 2005–present)? Scholars and viewers have variously claimed the programme represents political positions ranging from far right to far left, or have denied it is political at all. In this article we offer a structural analysis that partially explains this diversity of response. Analysing three classic era Doctor Who serials with different political flavours, all of which feature political regime change as a narrative element, we identify two narrative devices that function to obscure any political ideologies present. The first, which we call the ‘science-beats-tyranny’ template, foregrounds the problem of a tyrannical regime rather than exploring any political alternatives to it. It circumvents the need for political debate by deposing the tyrant with a scientific fix. The second, which we call the ‘ethics illusion’, uses heuristic logic to effect the appearance of an ethical plot resolution, while skipping over the political details of the new regime replacing the tyrant. We argue that these devices create ambiguity about a serial’s political commitments and also direct viewer attention to generic rhetoric about freedom from tyranny, rather than any more specific political ideology.

Image manifold revealing for breast lesion segmentation in DCE-MRI.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is widely used for breast lesion differentiation. Manual segmentation in DCE-MRI is difficult and open to viewer interpretation. In this paper, an automatic segmentation method based on image manifold revealing was introduced to overcome the problems of the currently used method. First, high dimensional datasets were constructed from a dynamic image series. Next, an embedded image manifold was revealed in the feature image by nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique. In the last stage, k-means clustering was performed to obtain final segmentation results. The proposed method was applied in actual clinical cases and compared with the gold standard. Statistical analysis showed that the proposed method achieved an acceptable accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity rates.

Image and Interpretation: Encoding and Decoding a Narrative Textile Installation

ABSTRACTMy research places textiles within a communication paradigm, considering cloth as a narrative form and examining the relationship between authorial intention and viewer interpretation. The personal and cultural experiences that inform the making and reading of textiles are considered through my practice, and the influence of content, cloth, and context on viewers’ interpretations of textiles in public spaces is examined. The visual content of my current work reflects on aspects of society, family, and cultural myth, particularly how the histories of past lives are represented and interpreted. The Ties That Bind II (2008) textile triptych is based on the experiences of a Quaker conscientious objector in the First World War and the consequences of his beliefs for himself and his family. The narrative sequence aims to visually communicate the family at the start of the war, the objector's imprisonment, and the postwar hostility towards conscientious objectors’ families. The visual content of the work was constructed within a semiotic framework in order to test the reading of individual signifiers and visual syntagms within the textiles. The textile triptych was exhibited without a content description at the Bankfield Museum and Art Gallery in West Yorkshire and Manchester Museum of Science and Industry in order to examine viewers’ interpretations of the narrative. This paper discusses the construction of the work and viewer responses to it at each site, exploring the meanings attributed to the individual images and narrative textile sequence, but also the personal and cultural influences that informed viewers’ interpretations of the textiles.

‘The first ever anti-football painting’? A consideration of the soccer match in John Singer Sargent’s Gassed

The essay presents a discussion of Gassed, a large oil painting by John Singer Sargent displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London. Completed in 1919, Gassed is the major achievement from Sargent’s commission as an official war artist at the appointment of the British War Memorials Committee during the latter period of World War I. Prominent in the painting is a group of soldiers, blinded by a mustard gas attack, being led to a Casualty Clearing Station tent. In the distant background of the painting, another group of soldiers can be seen kitted out in football attire playing a match. The significance of this football imagery is our point of enquiry. As the title suggests, some recent interpretations regard the painting as offering critical reflection, from the time, about the symbolic links between sport and war. However, whilst the painting may certainly be left open to this type of viewer interpretation, archival and secondary resource material-based research does not support such a critical intention by the artist. Yet, nor is there evidence that Sargent’s intention was the projection of war-heroism. Rather, Sargent’s endeavour to faithfully represent what he observed allows Gassed to be regarded as a visual record of routine activity behind the lines and of football as an aspect of the daily life of British soldiers during the Great War.

Punk Dress in the Workplace

Individuals who identify with punk subculture negotiate between aesthetic expression of their subcultural identity and the role they believe they are expected to play at work. Men and women, aged 26 - 45 years, in a wide range of professions were interviewed and asked questions related to their workplace dress. They were asked to bring to the interview a display of how they dress to express both their punk and workplace identities. Interviewees reported a balancing act of blending in and standing out, taking into consideration viewer interpretations and subsequent outcomes. Efforts to wear “appropriate” dress included accommodations such as modifying one's punk appearance by conceding to dress codes and using perceived non-confrontational aesthetic choices with punk cues subtly coded to appear conventional. Dress features were selectively revealing or concealing punk symbols as interviewees strive to push the boundaries of workplace appropriateness for satisfying aesthetic self-expression.

Media Consumption and the Contexts of Physical Culture: Methodological Reflections on a “Third Generation” Study of Media Audiences

In this paper we argue that sport media research would be enhanced by: (a) engagement with the audience research tradition, including “third generation” audience studies that emphasize relationships between viewer interpretations of media and everyday social practices; and (b) the adoption of multimethod research approaches that are sensitive to contradictions and complexities that exist in media consumption. To support this argument, we reflect on the benefits of a multimethod research design used in a recent audience study conducted by the authors on youth interpretations of media and performances of masculinity in physical education (Millington & Wilson, in press). These benefits include: enriching researcher understandings of social/cultural contexts; illuminating social hierarchies; and revealing lived contradictions. We conclude with reflections on epistemological issues and suggestions for future audience projects.

Contradictory Messages: A Content Analysis of Hollywood-Produced Romantic Comedy Feature Films

This study analyzed the romantic content of a sample of 40 romantic comedy films using a basic grounded theory methodology. Analyses revealed that such films appear to depict romantic relationships as having qualities of both new and long-term relationships; that is, to be both novel and exciting, yet emotionally significant and meaningful. Furthermore, relationships were shown to have both highly idealistic and undesirable qualities but for any problems or transgressions experienced to have no real negative long-term impact on relationship functioning. The potential for viewer interpretations is discussed and the need for future research highlighted.

Romeo and Juliet for the Young Viewer—Interpretation and Adaptation

After Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet is probably Shakespeare's most performed play, and one which is seen as having clear appeal to young people, the protagonists themselves being teenagers, experiencing first love and generational conflict. This paper explores the ways in which Romeo and Juliet has been performed for young people in productions aimed explicitly at a youth audience, cut down versions of the play, and adaptations based on the Shakespearean original.

The 'Potential Mobilities' of Photography

The 'Potential Mobilities' of Photography

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Toward a Sociology of Reality Television

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Toward a Sociology of Reality Television

Modes of Reception: A Consolidated Analytical Framework

Drawing on a synthesis of existing models of reception and findings from audience research, this article outlines a conceptual framework for the (meta)analysis of existing and new reception data which delineates four primary modes of viewer interpretation and response: transparent, referential, mediated, and discursive. I argue that the adoption of this consolidated analytical framework may facilitate a more systematic investigation into how viewers' interpretations are shaped by social group memberships, cultural competencies, and discursive affiliations.

Using graphics to support comprehension of dynamic information in texts

Little is known about the influence of micro-level design factors on the effectiveness with which static and animated graphics support comprehension of dynamic information. Graphics are frequently used as adjuncts to written and spoken text with the aim of addressing any potential ambiguities that may arise during interpretation. When used to depict information about temporal change, graphics can present the situational dynamics with varying degrees of explicitness. With static graphics, viewer interpretation is reliant on some degree of inference; whereas with animated graphics, the dynamics can be presented in a direct, analog form. The effectiveness of static and animated graphics for portraying dynamic subject matter appears to be closely related to fine-grained aspects of the interaction between the graphic and its user that may be missed if a largely intuitive approach to design is adopted. Selected findings from empirical research into the effects of content, cues, background knowledge and attentional influences are discussed as a basis for suggesting a more principled approach to the design of adjunct graphics.

Conceptualizing television news interpretation by its viewers: The concept of interpretive complexity

In recent years many scholars seem to agree that viewers' interpretations play a prominent role in the influence of television news. However, a clear concept of 'interpretation' is still missing. This article proposes to conceptualize interpretation as the 'representation' of a news item as constructed and reported by a news viewer. More specifically, we look at this representation in terms of its complexity. Two aspects are important: first, the fundamental elements viewers use in their interpretation (differentiation), and second, how the viewer relates these elements to one another on a more abstract level (integration). Together, differentiation and integration represent the complexity of the viewer's interpretation of a television news item. The article provides definitions of these concepts and argues that interpretive complexity can be useful in studying the influence of television news. It concludes by outlining research questions in the field of television news using interpretive complexity.

Building Upon the Experimental Design in Media Violence Research: The Importance of Including Receiver Interpretations

The authors argue that the inclusion of viewer interpretation variables in experimental design and analysis procedures can greatly increase the methodology's ability to explain variance. The experiment primarily focused attention on the between-group differences, while an analysis of how individual participants interpret the cues in the stimulus material focused attention on the within-group differences. We demonstrated such an analysis in this study in which 99 participants were exposed to 1 of 3 treatment conditions (high violence, mid violence, and low violence) and found significant differences across treatment groups. However, the treatment differences accounted for only about 7% of the variance in judgments of the degree of violence, whereas a set of interpretive variables accounted for more than 48%.