Semiotics: Aberrant Decoding

Hello and welcome dear colleagues and fellow researchers.

Today, let us discuss the concept of Aberrant Decoding, also known as Aberrant Reading.

Definition: 

This term is proposed Eco which refers to decoding a text by means of a different code from that used to encode it. 

Background: 

The concept was proposed by Italian Semiotician Umberto Eco in his 1972 paper "Towards a Semiotic Inquiry Into the Television Message."

Umberto Eco (1932 - 2016)

Usage: 

The concept is used and is very helpful in fields like Communication, Media Studies, Semiotics, and journalism. According to Eco, aberrant decodings were rare in pre-industrial societies, when most communication occurred between people who shared the same culture. He lists four classes of exceptions where aberrant decodings could have happened:

• People who did not share the same language. 
• People are trying to interpret the meanings of past cultures. For example, mediaeval people are looking at Roman art. 
• People who did not share the same belief system. For example, Christians looking at pagan art. 
• People who came from different cultures. For example, white Europeans looking at Aboriginal art.

Eco continues that in contemporary media, instead of being exceptions, aberrant decodings have become the norm.

Example:

Let us see an example from the 1939 American film Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming. 

The film has several different theories that come from the aberrant decoding of the film. There are two theories we will be looking at. The first is the religious theory that states that the Emerald City is actually heaven and that the yellow brick road is the path of enlightenment. As the group walks along to the city, they have to avoid various sins and temptations.

On the other hand, we have the atheist theory. In this decoding of the film, all the symbols mean the same as the religious theory, but in the opposite way. For example, Oz is god, but the reality is he is just a mortal behind the curtain.

That's all for today. Stay connected for more such conceptual notes on Semiotics. Do comment and let me know which concepts you'd like to learn in more detail.

Thank you.