Encoding and Decoding Essay

Topic An analysis of a Carnival advertisement using Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding model

Carnival is a cultural observance held in Trinidad and Tobago on the Monday and Tuesday before the season of lent. As with other such observances held around the globe it has some attributes that make it culturally specific to our twin island republic. Culture can be defined as “Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the past haveincreased the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participants in anecological niche, and thus became shared among those who could communicate with eachother because they had a common language and they lived in the same time and place” Triandis (1994). The meanings derived from various advertisements are specific to cultures. Their meanings are formed from the attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors of a given society. In Trinidad and Tobago, particularly the attached advertisement would be understood across the vast majority of the populous. The elements of the advertisement would alert to the viewer that a “fete” would be held at some particular time. The viewer can attach meaning to the various elements without reading the text contained in the advertisement. The ladies dressed in sexy attire and the presence of a “cooler” all are discerned as being associated with partying in Trinidad and Tobago around Carnival. The text placed within the advertisement confirms to the viewer that it is a “fete”. The name “wicked in white 2.0” along with the date, which falls within the period of partying leading up to the two day festival. The promotional name may or may not have significance to the viewer based on the segment of the social structure to which he or she belongs. Analysis of all the elements of the ad confirms to the viewer based on our culturally specific system of meaning that a party or “fete” will be held on January 28th 2012.
Advertising has a unique place within modern

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