“Ideology saturates everyday discourse in the form of common sense” (127)
Today in class, we discussed Hebdige and I thought he offered some very compelling thoughts on ideology. Hebdige is saying that we, as humans, are surrounded by hegemonic forces. These hegemonic forces assist in imbuing people with ideological views. Since these hegemonic forces are so dominant in our current society, these ideological views become common wisdom. For some ideological values, like not wanting to murder human beings or hurting other people, are morally good and I argue should always be upheld. However, the government (or those in power) will put other values in us that enforce ideology.
Currently, I am in a Political Media class with Dr. Schoen. The more I think about that class and CMC 300, the more crossovers I see between our theorists and our contemporary times. In that class, we just finished talking about how political advertisers will use emotions to control the anxious thoughts of the people listening. In one of the documentaries we walked to (called “The Century of the Self”), there is a heavy discussion of Edward Bernay, who was an American propagandist during WWI. He, as well as other propaganda creators, were able to circulate the typical American ideology around President Woodrow Wilson. In essence, propagandists like Bernay take Ideology and elevate it so it is appealing to the masses. Even things that we wouldn’t expect to “ideology” or “propaganda” are considered that. For example, the idea of a “perfect American breakfast” is bacon and eggs. Why is it bacon and eggs? In the 1920s, Bernay was approached by a pork producer who wanted to increase the profit on their bacon. Bernay asked a “doctor” if Americans need a heavier breakfast. That “doctor” in turn asked other doctors and Bernay now had a “study” in which doctors recommended a heavier breakfast, specifically bacon and eggs. Even our notions of what breakfast is act under an ideology.
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