Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky, little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same. Famous song lyrics by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 criticizing the newly developing suburbia and the conformity of the middle class. Although a political satire, this song can represent the idea of the American Dream, but where did this idea of the American Dream come from? It comes from a way of life, repeated and spoken into existence until it is normal, or hegemonic. But is it really normal or is it a set social standard that only some of us achieve?
James Lull defines Hegemony as the power or dominance that one social group holds over another (Hegemony, p. 61). Hegemony comes from the idea of ideology or the way we look at the world. When repeated enough, it becomes the dominate idea or hegemony. This repetition becomes the rules of life. Where do we learn these rules? Media, family, religion, etc.; it becomes our discursive life practices, teaching us where to be and where not to be.
In Hegemony by James Lull, Lull makes references to Antonio Gramsci “‘super structure,’ its ideology producing institutions,” (Hegemony, p. 62). Meaning these are the stories we tell ourselves to justify the relationships of social structures and ways of life. It is important to note, hegemony is fragile and requires renewal, modification, and repetition to stay dominate. Hegemony can fail when dominant ideology is weaker than social resistance, so the controlling forces must remind us through media what is normal.
Luke Winslow in his article Comforting the Comfortable: Extreme Makeover Home Edition’s Ideological Conquest gives us prime examples of how the super structure reinforce the idea of what is normal and teaches us where to fit in in the American Dream and class. Winslow’s articles attempts to explain the role ideology and cultural myth play in mediating this contradiction [ideology of the American Dream and economic reality] by analyzing reality television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition (2010, p. 267). Winslow reminds us that television not only entertains, but teaches us values and norms. Television has become the place to celebrate dominate ideas and bring people into the social order. “The program begins by introducing each family in a way that highlights their ‘all- American’ status…From this all-American introduction the viewer is also reassured that these are good, moral people.” (2010, p. 272). This framing brings up a morality issue pushing that this poor family deviates from the standard, no moral, poor life. This message puts out that some how being poor is a moral failure and poor families who have beat the odds to still be good are more worthy of our time. (2010, p. 270).
Unfortunately, hegemony is not all sparkle and shine, but sometimes can put people into boxes that they do not fit in. THE GHETTO FABULOUS AESTHETIC IN CONTEMPORARY BLACK CULTURE by Roopali Mukherjee will remind us that class is inevitable is ideology. “That is, the audacious poses of bling serve, more than markers of class emulation, as embodied substantiation of the fabulousness of the ghetto, emphatic affirmations of working class, urban, black life.” (2006, p. 600). The representation of the bling-bling movement put African Americans into a specific category. It bled over into cinema such as Barbershop and Barbershop 2 where it became consumption and how the everyday life achievements stacked up against the ghetto fabulous bling-bling goals.
Ideology does not just set structures, but it also wipes away the reality of them making a historical amnesia. Lull quotes Stuart Hall that hegemony has to be actively won and secured (Hegemony, p. 64). If your idea is the dominant idea, you are most likely benefiting from that power position and will not let yourself be challenged. To do this, the people in power will add historical amnesia to ideological ideas for security in power while still selling an image to people without the reality.
Winslow makes an excellent argument when he says, “Although the myth of the classless society promotes the belief that all Americans can transcend their socioeconomic, racial, and gender constraints to rise to the upper class, the economic data tell a different story.” (2010, p. 278). In this situation, the economic data is the evidence of reality that the hegemonic idea that proves classless society/American Dream is not accurate. These hegemonies wash away reality making society feel pressure to live up to an unattainable standard of life.
Historical amnesia is across the board for ideologies. In THE GHETTO FABULOUS AESTHETIC IN CONTEMPORARY BLACK CULTURE Mukherjee states, “this analysis showcases the means by which ghetto fabulous films, while they come dressed in innocuous trappings of generic urban comedy, equate African American advancement with individualistic, entrepreneurial investment while they, pointedly and repeatedly, undermine black historical resolve in social justice and collective action.” (2006, p. 621). It is clear to promote the dominant idea they ignore the reality of living it.
Hegemony is more than teaching us morals or class, but they can also show up implicitly and impact our subconscious. From GI Joe is for boys to Barbie is for girls, ideologies are always impacting us, subtly or not. A subtle example would be Grand Theft Auto V. Hegemonic masculinity is upheld in Grand Theft Auto V through the game's reward system. Within the game exist three themes surrounding hegemonic masculinity: Deviation from hegemonic masculinity as negative, hegemonic masculinity as positive, and deviation from hegemony as comedy. Basically, you move forward in the game when you do hegemonicaly masculine things (i.e. robbing a bank, beating up NPCs) and are punished when you do not. You cannot proceed in the game if you try and find an alternative. The game becomes stationary and waits for you to finish the task their way. When you complete tasks, you are rewarded. The player is also encouraged to be more masculine simply through game mechanics. In the menu, you can view your character’s game statistics. These include strength, stamina, stealth, shooting, number of deaths, number of crimes, and combat. How much money you’ve accumulated throughout the game sits in the top right corner of the screen. There are no stats on intelligence, kindness, or honesty. The player literally keeps track of his or her masculinity points. In addition to deviation from hegemony being punished within GTA V, it is also ridiculed and meant as comedy. A character named Trevor, who runs a local meth business, regularly sleeps with a woman named Jessica, who is the girlfriend of Johnny. Johnny emotionally confronts Trevor. Trevor mockingly asks Johnny if he was the one Trevor should have been sleeping with implying that is the reason Johnny is so upset. Trevor then consoles Johnny as yet another joke before Trevor assaults and murders him. Johnny’s vulnerability and deviation from hegemonic masculinity are not only made fun of, but are what ultimately end up killing him. Furthermore, Trevor’s use of comedy can also be seen as an affirmation of masculinity. Robert Hanke writes that men’s use of comedy reflects the “use of joke-telling to secure the fraternity of heterosexual men” (1998, p. 83). Fraternity in this instance would not mean brotherhood; rather, it expresses a mutual understanding between Johnny and Trevor of their masculine identities. Through these methods, Grand Theft Auto V affirms hegemonic masculinity.
People can argue it’s just a game, but it is how ideologies start. They are put out into the world, repeated and learned until they become hegemony. GTA V is a prime example of setting out implicit ideologies without having the reality surrounding it.
Hegemony will be the norm some of us reach and some will not. Hegemony can fail when dominant ideology is weaker than social resistance, so if we want a change we can create one. Put the idea out, repeat it, and live it; but do not forget to match it up with reality. By this logic, we can create and reflect true normalcy and have a hegemony that matches reality.