RESEARCH INTO IDEOLOGIES

Rebecca Phillips

HEGEMONY Hegemony – The use of the media to put

forward a predominant influence from the leadership over a group of people.

It can be seen through-out history, most recently during the post-cold war, and literature like George Orwell’s 1984.

Hegemony could easily become out dated, so it constantly changes over time to keep control.

The media can use the dominant hegemony to appeal to its reader and present the norm or challenge this and present an alternative opinion.

LOUIS ALTHUSSER Louis Althusser was a French

philosopher who main interest was Marxism. He published his essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” which explored how humans are self-conscious. He found ideology could be used as a determining force that could shape the consciousness.

IDEOLOGY IN GENERAL Ideology is defined as “the body of

doctrine, myth, belief, etc that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class or large group”.

It can shape political agendas such as communism, socialism and capitalism.

In film, it is the message, subtle or obvious that the producers wanted to put forward to the audience.

IDEOLOGY IN OUR FILM Ideologies are also used to build

representation within the media. Ideologies help shape characters. Character makers use ideologies and stereotypes to create characters such as the damsel in distress must be beautiful. This helps the audience connect with the characters. In contrast, if these ideologies are not followed, the audience may feel alienated by the character or sympathetic of the character’s struggle out the cultural ideologies.