T3 | Wk 9 | Thursday / Friday - Cultural Hegemony and Disney example

Let's further explore Hegemony as a concept.

Cultural hegemony is when the ideas and values of powerful groups become so normal and accepted that people may accept them without questioning them.

Example 

Powerful economic interests

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Promote ideas about consumerism

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Media constantly shows people buying products

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Consumption becomes associated with success/happiness

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People see consumerism as normal.

Hegemony does NOT simply mean:

"The media controls everyone."

Instead:

The media can contribute to the production and reinforcement of dominant ideas, but audiences can accept, negotiate or resist them.

 

 

This connects with Stuart Hall's Reception Theory.

Hall	Hegemony
Dominant/hegemonic reading	Audience accepts the preferred meaning
Negotiated reading	Audience partly accepts but modifies it Audience rejects/challenges it
Oppositional reading ACTIVITY:  Create a presentation with your findings. Use cited sources for social commentary as well as examples from Disney movies over the years where ideas about society (ideology) has been reinforced, reflecting the era they were made and how that changed over the years as society changed. What ideas about society do Disney texts repeatedly communicate? Possible examples: Gender Older Disney texts frequently presented: princesses romance marriage beauty domestic roles male rescuers This can be linked to dominant gender ideologies. However, newer Disney texts can challenge some of these conventions. Examples: Frozen — sisterhood rather than romantic love as the central relationship. Moana — female protagonist whose narrative is not primarily based around romance. Mulan — challenges traditional expectations around gender roles. Hegemonic reading You could argue: Older Disney texts potentially reinforced hegemonic ideas about femininity, romance and gender roles. But: Later Disney texts demonstrate that popular media can also challenge existing hegemonies.