Shaped by a combination of life experiences and genetics, nature and nurture, each one of us is different from the next person. Because of this, we each perceive the world through different spectacles, we all see the media from our own standpoint. Lacey acknowledges that although the media may manipulate (using colour, lighting, music and many other tools) to evoke a particular response from viewers, it is inevitable that different people will interpret the same text in vastly different ways.
To give an example, Catfish is a documentary about a New York photographer (Nev) and his close relationships with several different people over Facebook. Several different people who infact, all turn out to be fake facebook identities created by Angela Wesselman. From reading reviews of the documentary online and speaking with friends, it is clear that most people sympathise with Nev who has invested his time and heart into relationships with people who essentially don't exist. Some people however, see Angela as a victim who has been exploited. I can say with fair certainty, Nev and his brother (who created the documentary) did not intend for the audience to view them as exploitative or Angela as an exploited victim. Again, people will take from it what they will and what the media's intended reaction will not always play out.
I guess that's the beauty of all art, the media and life in general. It is there to be interpreted, critiqued and scrutinised. The media can try to manipulate and urge the viewer to feel a particular way but their techniques can only go so far. Once a text is in view to an audience, only the individual viewer can determine the text's fate in their own eyes.
(Lacey, N., 2009, ‘Introduction to Textual Analysis’ (extract) in Image and Representation: key concepts in media studies, 2nd Edition, MacMillan, London, pp 6-33. )
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