RTF 305 post 2

Through media we are exposed stereotypes of what we should look like or be like, what products we should buy, what social class we seem to fit in, and it also affects our political views. Understanding the concept of hegemony has helped me see that advertisements such as those from McDonalds for childrens "Happy Meals" are aimed to encourage children to still eat their processed food giving them the option of having milk and fruit instead of soda and fries.

Hegemony can be defined as the power to influence society to make certain decisions though it is not done directly but rather indirectly. We are given messages of what foods would be good for us to eat, why we should buy a certain body wash, or why we should shop at a certain store. Whether it's because it is "eco-friendly" or because it is "healthier" for you to eat. Hegemony is also responsible for the way we see out social classes, when we see movies or T.V. shows of what "rich" and "poor" people look like we accept the way it is being shown or given to us and use it in our everyday lives. 

An example of the concept of hegemony is those of the Axe commercials and how putting on the body spray automatically makes you attractive to women, when they jump on the men in the commercials and follow them. The message the commercial gives is that by buying this product women will soon be wanting your body and your chances of meeting a girl increase. Hegemony helps me understand that by buying into this doesn't mean that I will have a new girlfriend or girls chasing me. The commercial influences me to buy the product because in reality what man doesn't want women to be attracted to them and hegemony shows that commercials encourage me to want to buy, though it is indirectly; they want me to believe that my body will seem more attractive to women once in spray the Axe on my body.      

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3qYT60DSKQ&feature=related