Ideology - Magazine Summaries

The World of Mockingjay: Ideology, Dystopia and Propaganda 

'The Hunger Games' trilogy addresses ideology, media saturation, reality TV and celebrity culture. There is a dystopian representation within Mockingjay and the Marxist theory assesses this representation as the poor are kept under control by the higher class. There is an ideological element to the way the country is run; those that are in power control ideas. There is a dictatorship, under the control of President Snow, a man who focuses on his supremacy rather than the people. He spreads fear through the propaganda and the media by using previous hunger games and airing the current ones on TV in order to distract the audiences from organising a revolution. According to Marxist theory, the people always find ways to rebel and resist power, not through voting and campaigning within political systems but through organising and connecting in other ways like citizen journalism and social media - this is what Mockingjay revolves around. The Mockingjay pin is the signifier of hope and strength and this is past on throughout the period when the Hunger Games are taking place. The protagonist was aware of the media surrounding her but throughout the films she learns to manipulate them; she was used to represent the 'false consciousness' of the Games, which is another Marxist idea, and she has now become a symbol of radicalism. Overall, the film  is not just a film, it comments on a capitalist society, which is then reflected into the future, in a dystopian tradition. 

What view of capitalist ideology is presented in the Hunger Games films?

The film presents a capitalist society reflected in the future. The society is run by a dictatorship but one that faces several problems, perhaps reflecting our own capitalist society negatively. The ruling class keep the poor under control and anyone who defies the law will ultimately be punished severely; this reflects our society as we have laws and rules that must be obeyed and the ideologies of those who commit crimes are essentially negative. The use of the media in our society is very influential and this is mirrored in The Hunger Games with the protagonist influencing the media, as a sort of celebrity, and therefore manipulating the dystopia society that she lives in, which could therefore act as a mirror to our society in which celebrities, and more generally the media, manipulate audiences in order for them to buy a product or watch something or behave in a particular way. 

Within a capitalist society there are two basic classes; the working class and then the bourgeoisie, who exploit the working class so in this case it would be President Snow. He cares more about himself and his supremacy rather than the people, which would inevitably lead to a dystopia. The Hunger Games comments on the ideologies that are presented in today's capitalist society but expands them and accentuates them in order to present a dystopia society. 

What do the Hunger Games films suggest about the power of the media to shape and influence ideological beliefs?

The protagonist allows other people to control her to influence the media and she understands how to manipulate the media that is surrounding her. The idea of her becoming a symbol of radicalism presents her understanding of the media influence and manipulation. The use of propaganda portrays the society realistically and therefore encourages more people to rebel as they believe in the ideologies that are presented by the protagonist. The use of symbols create meaning and influences. According to the Marxist theory people will always find a way to rebel to resist power through social media and the media itself, so the protagonist's Mockingjay pin acts as a symbol of hope and strength to encourage those that support her ideologies. According to the semiotic theory the pin represents all things relating to togetherness, which therefore influences more people to believe the same thing. 

They Live: Ideology

"The ideas that make up the dominant ideology in Britain do not remain static – they change as new ideas develop, people discuss them, and they enter the mainstream." Dominant ideologies in Britain for example are that people should put their families first; people should work hard for their money and women should behave in feminine ways and look after their appearance. These ideologies appear natural and accepted within society. Consensual views are ideologies that we accept. 

Slavoj Zizek explores how we now accept our control but are still completely dominated. He suggests that pleasure and the self are the main concerns in the 21st century. Gramsci’s Hegemony concept is

central to Zizek’s ideas, as the acceptance of being obedient, consuming, marrying and reproducing, and not questioning authority has become part of the natural order. Hegemony is the ability of the dominant class to project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are dominated by it (the masses), accept it as ‘common sense’ and ‘natural’. John Carpenters 'They Live' focuses on how we are controlled and manipulated by ideologies; it is about how the media cleverly controls and manipulates our behaviour. The film suggests that we desire the media and the pleasures of consumerism is what drives ideologies within society. 

Gramsci and Hegemony - he introduced the concept of hegemony and it's role in social control; he defined hegemony as "an important way in which those in power maintain their control through consent, rather than the use of force. He argued that the power of ideology derives primarily from ideas and structures which support, and thus serve the purpose of, an elite social group which is able to dominate through ideas, rather than militaristic strength or fear."

Althusser - his view was that ideology is the greatest material power and dominates our day to day lives through two key forms of control: 'Repressive State Control/Apparatus' (RSAs) - These state agencies regulate social behaviour and repress the masses through violence, punitive law, and fear. The other is 'Ideological State Apparatus' (ISAs), such as the church and media, which dominate implicitly through common sense, acceptance and social norms rather than fear.

What are the four accepted ideological beliefs in western societies highlighted by the article?

- Realise your true potential 

- Be yourself 

- Lead a satisfying life 

- Money will bring happiness and a fulfilled life 

What does Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggest about power and ideology in society?

Gramsci defined hegemony as an important way in which those in power maintain their control through consent, rather than the use of force. The power of ideology is dominated by an elite social group, rather than militaristic force or violence. The hegemonic view in western society is that money will bring happiness and a fulfilled life. The dominant and elite class are able to control the masses in order to influence them to consider particular ideologies as common sense, forcing them not to question the ideology; this therefore presents hegemony as a controlling tool which is able to encourage the masses and influence them in both positive and negative ways. 

What does French theorist Louis Althusser suggest about ideology and consumerism?

Althusser has a theory about how we are controlled through ideology. He believes that ideology is the greatest material power that dominates our society and it is based around 2 key forms of control: 

- Repressive State Apparatus (RSAs) through major institutions in society such as the police and the government. These institutions regulate social behaviour and repress the masses through violence and fear. 

- Ideological State Apparatus (ISAs) such as the media and the church. These institutions dominate implicitly dominate through common sense and social norms rather than fear. This supports the idea of hegemony. 

We consume through advertising and marketing because material things make us happy; the dominant global ideology is that we want to buy things because we like material wealth.

Do YOU agree with the idea behind They Live - that we are unthinkingly controlled by the media which is run in the interests of the economic elite? 

Yes, I agree that the media is an extremely influential tool in society, which can manipulate us to do certain things through the use of advertising and marketing but I also think we are able to have self control and are able to not be manipulated by the media. The issue is however, the power of the media is so great that we are unaware of the impact it has on us and we are unthinkingly doing the things that we do not necessarily know we are doing such as buying a particular item of clothing; we buy that item of clothing for a reason, is it because we like the product itself or because we like the brand? Personally, I like brand names and the idea of wearing a brand name makes me feel better than wearing something unbranded as it almost adopts no satisfaction. The economic elite definitely runs the media with the intent to manipulate us to buy certain things and do particular things, if they did not want us to do certain things, nothing would ever go through the process of editing.