Brookes77, Marx and Althusser

Ideology, a term we use over and over again in all Critical Media Studies classes, it has shaped the way we think, about ( I know this is broad) everything. These dreams have been created for us to desire, and without this notion of Ideology I believe we would be lost, even though I think it is sad it has come to this point. On page 34 it states “ The second issue, the falseness of ideology, has provided another topic for continuing debate. Is ideology, simply ‘ false consciousness’, an illusion, albeit one its proponents share in through self deception, and so possibly opposed to the true knowledge objectively obtained by science?” I really agree with this, I believe that the knowledge over all of ideology is very small, and that the majority of people are not aware ideology and how it is creating how we think, want, and live. This is how it gains credibility because people do not understand, or do not try to understand that there are ruling ideas that are trying to make us live a certain way and want certain things. The education of this notion of ideas of ideology, needs to be expanded people understand signs, and signifiers on a level, yet not on a deeper level. The majority understands signs but we do not understand that the signs, signifiers, are leading us to. Because we do not understand this and we “go with the flow” following these signs on a surface level, we become the hegemonic force without even understanding that we are forcing this on ourselves. It is all sub conscious, and a cycle that keeps repeating. In the second reading when talking about the division of labor on page 39 it states “…. Other’s attitude to these ideas and illusions is more passive and receptive, because they are in reality the active members of this class and have less time to make up illusions and ideas about themselves”. I agree with this yet that they have less time, to think of new ideas, yet I believe that people do not even realize that they have that advantage, yes they do not have the time, yet they are not educated enough to do so, or they have not taken the time in creating ruling ideas.

" Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence". This is the first thesis that Louis Althusser states, although it was complicated to grasp, to me it means that ideology is shaping our real existence which i strongly agree with. Although i believe for most it is sub conscious it is becoming the relationship of our conditions of existence, it is how we are defining ourselves.