Antonio Gramsci

gain control over another, weaker power. An example of this shown through history is the Soviet Union’s expansion over Eastern Europe, through the use of dictatorial powers. Whilst there are necessary levels of ‘consent’ included within this, as Gramsci describes, it is important to note that the dominant power will, as a rule, continue to maintain their authority , if successful in their persuasive strategies. Whilst…

based on the economic structure in the western society. It could be comprehended through the operation of cultural hegemony (i.e. how culture industry operates with the consent from the mass by the “dominant fundamental group”) that introduced by Gramsci. The following three academic articles emphasize on different features of culture industry thesis and further develop the concept originally proposed by Ardono and Horkheimer. This essay will evaluate how effective the theory has been applied in…

I would argue that the main point of this chapter is that schooling has not been focusing on teaching students how to reflect, to critical think, and to judge the things they think and do. In addition, hegemony is a silent method of social dominance and subordinate groups seem to accept it without notice it. McLaren explains that critical pedagogy defines ideology in a way, in which we view the world with certain values, ideas, and beliefs. This gives our social and political life a…

According to Comolli and Narboni, the notion of category e films refers to an ideology that is firmly established at a starting point; the spectator must know that the film is sending the signal that a particular prevailing ideology is considered the “norm” or the order of things. The spectator has to literally disregard a sector of films in which consciousness of the ideology is elicited in a way that renders it in a straightforward fashion. Then, as the film progresses, the spectator notices…

The play M Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, is an extremely complex piece of literature and a fascinating dissection of the East versus West mentality as well the gender binary. Examining Gallimard’s behavior under these lenses leads to many insights to his motivations and provides reasoning for his rather strange actions. These ideas which permeate the play are all grounded in the fundamental concept of ideology and the interpellation of the “subject” by said ideologies. As well as Althusser’s…

Hegemony is obedience that is self-ascribed by a population. It is the willful following, subjugation or domination without resistance. The population views a certain way of acting as the standard and proceeds to engage in such acts without force or coercion against them. An example is religion, where a new devote follower changes the ways they act to be in accordance to the religions standards. This may include increased charity donations, to abstinence from sex or alcohol, to a change in…

Essay I: Ideology, a term that we all know exists, but very few truly understand the essence that lies behind such a word. Many questions arise when one thinks of ideology such as, but not limited to, “What is ideology?” and “Where do individuals come to acquire their ideology, as in is it born into the genetics that make up who they are, or is it created through the experiences of their life?”. Louis Althusser was a 20th century French philosopher that devoted much of his life to the study of…

For Gramsci and Cox, Western Europe can be described in terms of Gramsci’s ‘War of Position’ as, in theory civil society had an assumed stake in the polity and therefore have the power to resist the state (Gramsci in Cox, 1981). In contrast, the Soviet Union after the 1917 Russian Revolution represents a ‘War of Movement’, as this was a war where there was no strong organisation of civil society to resist the state apparatus (Gramsci in Cox, 1981). The reason why there…

When grounded upon Raymond Williams’ concept of the dominant society and the perpetual flux between filtering residual and emergent cultures, the existence of the novel by such definitions are placed into that of the former. Novels represent a notion of residual culture that has been deeply absorbed within the current superstructure as “they contribute to the effective dominant culture and are a central articulation of it” (Williams 1434), while creating more production for the base through…

There are many Radical Class Theories some that come to mind are Antonio Gramsci, Karl Marx and others. What most have in common is that, that most saw economic injustices for the common person the worker. They saw economic development as a constraint along with high and expanding Third World debt. In addition they viewed the current economic system as a class system to keep the rich or the elites in power while the masses where indirect slaves to those elites. Marxism view was that “primitive…