Ideologies and Hegemony
A key area of Media Studies is examining the issue of how the Media affects society. It is clear to see that we live in a media saturated world; we use the media to inform us, entertain us and connect us with others. Theorists have argued that the impact of the Media on our society is paramount; how can it not be when it encompasses our everyday lives?
In order to understand the potential impact of the Media you first have to understand the notion of Hegemony. Within society there is a ruling class- a group of people who govern the way we live our lives. The values and beliefs of this group is known as hegemony- the dominant ideologies in a society.
Links to further detail on this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism10.html
Due to the potential power of the Media various theorists have explored the relationship between the Media and social hegemony (and the ruling classes who create this).
One of the most famous and influential theorists is Karl Marx (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx). Marx, who is credited as the founder of modern communism, argued that the Media served to promote the views of the ruling classes thus in the western world promote a capitalist society.
So how does this link in with the Media? Well, in order to understand media texts, it is necessary to understand why they are being constructed in the first place, who is constructing it and why is it being constructed in that particular way?
A key area of Media Studies is examining the issue of how the Media affects society. It is clear to see that we live in a media saturated world; we use the media to inform us, entertain us and connect us with others. Theorists have argued that the impact of the Media on our society is paramount; how can it not be when it encompasses our everyday lives?
In order to understand the potential impact of the Media you first have to understand the notion of Hegemony. Within society there is a ruling class- a group of people who govern the way we live our lives. The values and beliefs of this group is known as hegemony- the dominant ideologies in a society.
Links to further detail on this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism10.html
Due to the potential power of the Media various theorists have explored the relationship between the Media and social hegemony (and the ruling classes who create this).
One of the most famous and influential theorists is Karl Marx (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx). Marx, who is credited as the founder of modern communism, argued that the Media served to promote the views of the ruling classes thus in the western world promote a capitalist society.
So how does this link in with the Media? Well, in order to understand media texts, it is necessary to understand why they are being constructed in the first place, who is constructing it and why is it being constructed in that particular way?
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