Theories+of+ideology+and+meaning

__**Ways of Making You Think: Theories of Ideology & Meaning**toc__ **Summary**


 * Individuals who consume media make meaning of all that they see and hear constantly, however these interpretations are skewed by social and cultural factors present in their lives as well as the ideals supported and reinforced by media outlets.
 * Ideologies are constantly changing and media is constantly working to keep up with these changes in order to maintain power and relevance.
 * Ideological state apparatuses such as churches, schools, families, community groups, and clubs work to reinforce the thoughts and standards of the dominant group present.
 * Repressive state apparatuses such as police officers, court systems, the military, and prisons ensure that individuals stay in line and do not stray far from the ideologies that need to be followed.
 * The majority of dominant elites in society work to spread the ideas that support their system, as they have the power and money to do so, creating a false image of what is the norm in a culture via media.
 * Individuals with the greatest amount of both cultural and symbolic capital are better able to spread their ideals.
 * Moral panics and fold devils are supposed threats to the set social order that media exaggerates to manipulate those who consume their content.
 * Few media workers have autonomy in their field, however all is dependent upon the success and popularity of the content they produce.

A sign is a real world object which has both a signifier and a signified (see key terms). Structuralism unpacks the relationships between concepts. Hegemony is "non-coercive control through culture and consent". It speaks of when people in control in a certain culture spread their own ideas in order to get people to agree with their views. This also allows for counter hegemonic discourse, which is when the minorities fight for their voice to be heard.

=**Key Terms**=


 * 1) **Signifier-** a visual or acoustic image/representation
 * 2) **Signified**- the mental image invoked by a signifier
 * 3) **Ideology**- a system of thought, false c onsciousness, or imaginary relationship that seals conditions of existence.
 * 4) **Interpellation**- the process by which someone becomes the subject of ideology
 * 5) **Hegemony**- non-coercive control through culture and consent
 * 6) **Moral Panics and Folk Devils****-** supposed threats to the established order which media exaggerates (ex. punk music, piracy)

=**Outside Research**=

"Copyright Owners and Moral Panics" by William Patry
Moral Panics and folk devils are tools used to scare the public into acting or thinking a certain way. Although they are easy to identify, moral panics and folk devils are constantly used because of their effectiveness. Among the most frequent users of moral panics in the United States was Jack Valenti, who was the chief lobbyist of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Valenti's job was to maximize the profits of the motion picture industry and fight any possible competitors by appealing to Congress. Among his major enemies was the videocassette recorder (VCR). VCRs allowed movies to be taped on air and watched repeatedly. VCRs also allowed viewers to skip over advertisements. On April 12, 1982, Valenti appeared before Congress and said "the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone." By saying this, Valenti made the VCR a threat to the American public as a whole, and not just to the film industry. He appealed to the public's sense of fear by using the metaphor of the Boston Strangler in order to sway the public in his own favor. Valenti's moral attacks did not stop there. When the market for video rentals took off, Valenti again appealed to Congress to control the market by posing video rentals as a threat to society. Valenti told Congress that the video rental market was "fenced off" and "entangled in an ancient barrier that baffles competition, flexibility of action and flexibility of pricing." Valenti tried to appeal to Congress by saying that the video rental market alienated the public because it could not be broken into and would not allow competition. However, Valenti's interest did not lie in including the public in the video rental market, but rather in getting a share of the profits that renting videos made. Movies had to be bought from the film industry, meaning that Hollywood received a profit. However, once films were rented out, the film industry no longer received a cut of the profits. By saying the rental industry was a threat to the free market, Valenti turned the film industry's problem into a moral problem that the public shared with Hollywood. Valenti's fight against VCRs and the rental industry shows how moral panics and folk devils can pervade any industry and are especially useful when fighting for legislative action.

Work Cited: Patry, William. (2009). Copyright Owners and Moral Panics. In //Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars// (pp. 139-170). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

A funny yet a little annoying video explaining what ideology is by Allan Ka Shing So

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Key Terms

 * copyright-** a copyright grants the creator of a work sole rights to the use and distribution of that work
 * lobbyist-** a lobbyist is someone who tries to influence legislative decisions
 * free market-** a market that is not controlled by any authority
 * legislative interference-** refers to control imposed by someone (or a group of people) with the power to make and amend laws

Additional Information
At the beginning of the decade, ACTA (Anti- Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) and SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) began surfacing. Most people did not know what they were. However, people noticed changes, such as their favorite music downloading sites were shut down. The following is a video explaining ACTA and its effects. media type="custom" key="24613828"