FloRida, 11/1

I really loved when we were in discussing the language of culture in class. It was so interesting to see some of these actions unintentionally play out. Language of culture includes raising your hand in class, being on time, going to class, not talking back or having attitude towards authority. Society has ingrained these actions in our minds so we will not have to be “punished.” Even though we are in college now, these cultural “expectations” are still in place. Hebdige states that, “Ideology saturates everyday in the form of common sense.” Ideas of Hebdige’s normalization really connect to Althusser’s ideas of ideology. Althusser states, “Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence.” Even though ideology might not originally be normal, eventually it seems as if it is. We play mental games based on the systems we interact with. Ideologies are not real but somehow cause of to do real things. These ideologies and representations are what create definitions of our culture. Parts of culture are through our unconscious (althusser). We as a society never want to be considered deviant or freaks. Subcultures represent deviance or freaks. The problem with that is that when subcultural signs become mass produced and part of our ideology. Hebdige clarifies that, “as soon as the original innovations which signify ‘subculture’ are translated into commodities and made generally available, they become ‘frozen.’” The deviant behavior is now redefined!