Thursday Classwork

Ideology questions:

1. In your own words, describe what 'ideology' is.

Ideology is a certain view or belief seen by an individual or a group in society. It holds the power to influence societies and impact the way people live and go about their day-to-day lives.

2. What are 2 examples from the text of dominant ideologies of the West, reflected in media?

• Dominant ideologies include beliefs about gender roles, about the economy, about social institutions.
• Consumerism is a world view that a person has more worth if she or he has more material possessions and that we are made happier by consuming more goods.

3. Thinking about 'Black Panther' which is one of your case studies for Power and the Media, what ideology is being communicated to the audience about the people groups represented?

It is representing people of color and a different culture compared to the ones that may be seen in the western world today. Audiences may not relate to it as much but it is engaging with a different standard of normal, that hopefully allows people to become more diverse compared to the 90s were having a predominant all person of color cast was never seen, especially when the producers were middle-aged Caucasian men that only saw the lens from their perspective. 

4. Thinking about ideology - Why would it be considered a powerful position to be in, if you were in a position to create media, consumed by audiences?

When producing the media whatever ideology you believe in or the views that you see are socially acceptable can be portrayed in the type of media you produce. Unfortunately, up until this point people who have produced media have been white males who only saw the world as plain black and white where minorities would have never been seen on-screen or any other type of culture would have never been brought to audiences if it was not seen as the 'normal way of living. Women were never the main character but rather another prop on the side, as the world has progressed females have slowly risen in the ranks where they are now seen as more than just an object where now they are the main characters and also seen as heroes. It now imposes the idea onto audiences that this can now be seen as normal in the film industry. 

5. If movie-making is essentially storytelling, the point of view and underlying world view of the storyteller is important in how people are represented. Give some examples of how we see dominant ideologies changing in society as a result of diversity in the top ranks of those creating film/ media and becoming the storytellers? (give detailed examples)

As I said before with women in the media and how it has slowly progressed over time. We now see it in many examples where women have risen through the ranks. They have now seen as heroes an example is 'Captain Marvel' where a woman is seen to be in a powerful position and saving the world, compared to when they are shown as weak or the damsel in distress. Females have started to own their own sexuality, especially women in the music industry where instead of being sexualized they are portraying themselves in a hyper-sexualized way in order to sell but also making a statement, women rappers are now dominating the industry with examples such as Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Cardi B, etc.