GRAMSCI THEORY (1971) (CULTURAL HEGEMONY)

Cultural Hegemony (one social class dominate a society by making their values appear normal)

(Other social classes accept these values as the normal)

(Media to promote the ideas of the ruling class.)

This is the idea that one social class (usually the middle class) is able to dominate a society by making their way of life and values appear normal, natural and common sense.
A a result other social classes accept these values as the normal way of life.

The media uses cultural hegemony to fix the social classes.

The working classes are somewhat trapped in an illusuion that they will benefit from society staying the same.

Media aim to district individiuals and promote the ideas of the ruling class.

Films (Examples)

- downtown abbey
- lonodn riots
- skins/misfits (promoting they're all the same - nothing changes - same class)
- Eastenders

Pursuit of Happyness (oppose - change things)
- The matrix
- V for vendetta

Gramsci sees hegemony as a site of constant struggle as societies are constantly debating what is and isnt acceptable.

You can relate this to our more positive representations of working class youth which challenge the perception of wokring class as thugs.

Equilbrium - state of piece
Todorovs theory - equilbrium, desequilibrium, equilibrium. (peaceful, heavy, peacful.)

Youths in harry brown threatens the equilibrium by being violent and looking out for trouble.
However, Harry Brown does this aswell but he settles it by resulting piece.

Harry Brown - Police at the end assume they saved it and Harry Brown didnt exist. They assume they are the middle class and they got rid of all the working class. They are denying Harry Brown's existance. (desequilibrium, desequilibrium, equilibrium.)

Equilibrium  (peace) - Another word for Cultural Hegemony

My Own Words
(Cultural Hegemony)
An idea that a class like middle class dominate society and working class look up to them as normal.

In all the three films the equilibrium (Todorov) is disrupted and thus dominant ideologies are disrupted. These dominant ideologies have been created through cultural hegemony and we, have been positioned to accept them as the ‘norm’. Themes of all three films revolve around the lower classes disruption of dominant ideologies and the middle class fighting to keep order. The fears of the middle class (and their power structure) are the lower class and their power to disrupt their ideals