Chapter 4: Hegemony February 8th 2015

“Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others” (Lull 39).  The idea of hegemony has to do with social power, and the way social group interact. But is also shows groups gaining and maintain the power they have. Hegemony was adapted from Marxist theories by Antonio Gramsci. His ideas about mass media included thoughts about the most elite social groups using it to their advantage. The media can much more easily put out their content and ideas compared to other social groups. The media uses tools such as TV commercials to make their consumers see themselves as consumers rather than the public. Hegemony also has a connection to culture; therefore it depends on what is dubbed the culture’s norms. But because of this, it can go undetected. This social consent that is presented because of hegemony can be much more effective that force when it comes to the media. TV media is taking advantage of this idea by basing TV shows on popular children’s toys. This is expanding the dominance of that social group. TV absorbs other social groups, and is even connected to government institutions. There are ways that people resist ideas of hegemony. Media consumers often resist these ideas, but that is not the only way. The way people interpret and use the media affect it. “Hegemony fails when dominant ideology is weaker than social resistance” (Lull 41). I think that hegemony is an idea that we as a society cannot necessarily get away from, but we can allow it to affect us or not to affect us. The media poses the biggest influence in our lives today, therefore the companies and social groups that are utilizing social dominance are doing what they have set out to do.