How might other people understand the media text in ways different to how I have?

When it comes to media messages different people will experience the same message differently. As audiences decode texts a whole range of factors influence the way a message is received. Socio-economic status, cultural background, family history, relationships, political bias, interests, values, nationality, past times and experiences etc. etc. all influence the way we perceive the world - media messages included (Kellner & Share, 2005).

For example, I had my Mum watch the video and tell me what she thinks. At the end of it she said 'Oh my, isn't that terrible the state that place is in.' I asked her if she been there. She had not. I put forward my opinion that having spent some time there [when it was a legal graffiti zone] I felt that the condition and atmosphere of the area had been misrepresented. At first she refuted my opinion, 'but look! you saw how dirty it was.' I asked her to consider what she actually saw that made her feel it was dirty. 'The drain and the graffiti' she replied. I informed her that the open drain featured in the video is not actually connected to the skate park and exists about 30 meters outside the old graffiti zone. To allow her to experience some of the graffiti that wasn't shown in the video I presented her with a dozen photos I had taken before it was painted over. She had a look at the photos. Re-evaluating her opinion based on the way she received the message, she said 'well I guess I'd really have to go down there before I could really make my mind up.'

In recognition that personal experiences influence the reading of a media message, the video's creators have deliberately attempted to give the viewer an experience of the area - only as we have seen, this vicarious experience is highly constructed. The intentional employment of a vicarious and constructed experience is the core technique employed by the makers of the message. In the supporting text beneath the video the writer spells it out for us to see:

'Herald Senior Writer Greg Ray and staff artist Chris Totterman take you on a walk along the oceanfront
and ask you to imagine how beautiful this gem ought to be.' (link to page)

Ah, but they are not asking you, they are actually trying to tell you!