Lecture two

Ideology

1. System of ideas or beliefs

2. Masking distortion or selection of ideas to reinforce power relations through creation of false consciousness.

-ideology are false ideas that cover up and blinds us from real state of the world.

Karl Marx-the ruling class has to represent its interest as the common interest of all the members of society to give its ideas the form of universality and represent them as the only rational universally valid ones.

Capitalism-a market where labour power is bought and sold

-production of comodities for sale

-use of money as a means of exchange

-competition/meritocracy

ideology/myth-work hard get most out of society.

Marxism- a political manifesto leading to socialism, communism and the 20th century between capital and labour.

-wants partly communism and capitilism, equality.

Karl Marx concept, believes theres a base which is forces of production and relations of production eg employer, employee, class.

-superstructure, social institutions, legal, political, cultural. without the base the superstructure wouldn't work.

Superstructure forms a culture and laws which can structure and strengthen the base, they work together.

Base is core to society.

Bourgeoisie is the middle class which screws over the base.

Marxist believes the church is fooling society, workers not getting paid well, led to believe the its ok because they'll go to heaven.

'Men act and women appear'-Berger ways of seeing 1972

advert for wonderbra says 'i never read the economist-lnda foster CEO

Ideology that men are the thinkers.

Althusser 1970-society has 3 parts, base, political (superstructure), ideology . Thinks ideology is our lives, the way we live.

Media as ideology state apparatus.

media creates a false consciousness

everone is brought up by the media, brainwashes us.

Media powered by politics, directed to classes, eg the times for upper class.

Daily star content isnt political which guides working class into football tv girls etc.

Frankfurt school-critical theory, Institute of social research

Theodore Adorno/MaxHorkhermer

-projected Marx's ideas into the 20th century.

-Culture industry, culture has no value same old thing.

Authentic culture vs mass culture.

Authentic is-real culture, european rather then american

-multidimensional rather then one dimensional

-requires imagination

-has the chance of working against the system.

Adorno hated pop music-all the same, mass culture.

punk was original, challenged everything.