MASS MEDIA AND IDEOLOGY

Key words Ideology Refers to a set of key ideas, values and beliefs that represent the outlook and justify the interest of a social group Dominant ideology Is the one that justifies the social advantages of the powerful, wealthy and influential groups in society and justifies the disadvantages of those who lack wealth, influence and power. Ideological State Apparatus Known as agencies which spread the dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class.

A visual example

What do you think ? What is the link between the mass media and ideology ?

An introduction Media scholars believe that media text articulate coherent if shifting ways of seeing the world, These texts help to define our world and provide models for appropriate behaviours and attitudes such gender roles stereotypes.

Key questions.... What defines success according to the mass media ? How is success achieved according to the message presented to us through the mass media? What qualifies as a criminal activity according to the mass media? What are the underlying messages in media content and whose interest do they serve ?

An introduction... Most ideological analyses of the media products focus on the content of messages – the stories they tell about the past or the present – rather than the effects of such stories. This topic will be focusing on the media messages which are transmitted through various mediums.

Ideology is a term which is rather complicated as its meaning varies depending on the context in which it is used. E.g. For the Marxist ideology means the belief that systems in society help justify the actions of those in power by distorting and misrepresenting reality, This example emphasises the importance of terminology clarification when looking at this topic.

Ideology and the mass media In this context the aim of scholars is to discover the underlying images of the society they provide What is the view of Britain by the rest of the world ? Read through your given section and be ready to feedback in 10 minutes

So what is ideology in this context? System of meaning that helps to define and explain the world and that makes value judgement about that world, Ideology is related to concepts such as worldview, belief systems and values which refers not only to the beliefs held about the world but also to the basic ways in which the world is defined, Ideology in this context is not just about politics but has a broader and more fundamental connotation.

How do we go about analysing mass media ideology? 1. We need to move the interest away from the specific activities of individuals which might be depicted in a newspaper, movie or a hit song, 2. We need to find the fit between the images and words depicted in a specific media text, 3. We finally having depicted this fit need to find ways of thinking about even defining social and cultural issues.

Have a think.... Watch the following video and using the lyrics can you identify any social or cultural issues which are represented ? How does the video represent those of Afro-Caribbean descent ?

What do you think? Is this a real representation of everyone of an Afro- Caribbean descent? Is this what we would like to believe to be a real representation of people of an afro-Caribbean descent ?

Key questions Which aspects of whose reality do we define as most real ? 2. Those that are the most visible? 3. The most powerful?

Answer Ideological analysis aims to asks what these images tell us about ourselves and our society

Mass media and politics Politicians view the mass media as a facilitator and sometimes a source of social problem

What do you think? How has the media in the case of Nick Griffin acted as a facilitator and a cause of problem ?

In a nutshell, As seen in the videos virtually all forms of mass media are targets often attacked by politicians for misrepresentations of their personalities. Media sell both products and ideas, both personalities and worldviews; the notion that mass media products and cultural values are fundamentally intertwined has gained broad public acceptance.

Research into mass media and ideology Research on the ideology of media has included a debate between those who argue that media promote the worldview of the powerful—the “dominant ideology”—and those who argue that mass media texts include more contradictory messages, both expressing the “dominant ideology” and at least partially challenging worldviews.

What do you think? Think back to the previous statement.... Which side of the argument do you side with and why?

Hunter (1991) _ Dominant Ideology versus Cultural Contradictions Stresses the ways in which media—advertising, news, letters to the editor, and opinion commentary—provide the principal forms of public discourse by which cultural warfare is waged. The morality of abortion, homosexuality, or capital punishment is debated, often in very polarized terms, in the mass media, as cultural conservatives and cultural progressives alike use various media technologies to promote their positions. =1 =1

Hunter (1991) The media is not simply a conduit for carrying competing messages, They are more than just the battlefield on which cultural warfare takes place, Much of the substance of the contemporary culture wars is about the acceptability of the images the mass media disseminates. disseminate - circulate: cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumour"; "broadcast the news"

Hunter (1991) These struggles over morality and values often focus on the implication of our popular media images and the apparent lesson they teach about society.

Reading Task Read through pages 159 to 164 (not including theoretical roots of media ideology) and put together as et of notes which summarise the topic. Feel free to ask me for help if you need it