I was partially wrong in my response to Marx and Althusser. I suggested that people needed to step outside of the box labeled "Ideology" and become more individual. However, not conforming and becoming original is in itself ideological. Being avant garde isn't really being avant garde anymore. Rebelling is not what it once was because many people have chosen to do so. It really is impossible to step outside of ideology because it consumes people in their day to day lives.
In class on Thursday we looked at images involving the ruling class. Champagne or Budweiser, GM or Mercedez Benz. We were asked to raise our hands for which one we thought pertained to the ruling class. An overwhelming amount of people said the champagne and the Benz. Why? Well, we answered in the most ideological way possible. Our brains searched through the ideology of wealthy people, and determined the most "expensive" image pertained to the ruling class. Another aspect of this process I think is interesting is the fact that people look around the room before they raise their hand. People want to fit in with the crowd and choose the most popular answer. Why do we constantly want to fit in? I would argue because fitting in makes life easier. Attempting to stand out could be much more difficult and possibly problematic in some cases.
Go to high school, go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, raise your family, watch your kids grow, retire, etc. This is what I would call THE ideology of life, the metanarrative if you will. The sequence I just mentioned is what everyone is taught to aspire to. Going in that order makes life easier. Easy is much more popular than difficult. Going against the grain can sometimes lead to great success, but often times it can lead to disaster. Some people do amazing things without a college degree, while others end up living on the street. Ideology exists to provide a guideline for human beings, or subjects. This guideline can either be strict or loose, depending on the individual. While it may seem better to pursue an off the beaten path life, it is often much more prosperous, both materially and socially, to follow the guideline ideology provides for us.
1 comment:
This is a great blog and I enjoy your perspective on ideology as guidelines. You analyze what we covered in class well and even point out the sub-ideology going on in class whereby many would agree with the majority to avoid being different. People wish to follow this metanarrative of life, but the do they actually follow it? How many people do you think go to high school, go to college, get a job, get married, have kids etc? As you say it's harder and harder to be different from hegemony, but this is mainly because different aspects of culture and society have become so normalized. Will it soon be a new ideology to not follow this metanarrative at all? Just some ways for you to think about the future of ideology :)
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