Media studies audience theory research

1. GRAMSCI
THEORY OF
CULTURAL
HEGEMONY

2. THE THEORY IN ESSENCE
Antonio Gramsci is best
known for his theory of
‘cultural hegemony’.
This describes how states use
cultural institutions to
maintain power in capitalist
societies.

3. SO WHAT IS CULTURAL
HEGEMONY?
The term 'hegemony' was coined by Gramsci, to denote the
predominance of one social class over others (bourgeois
hegemony).
This refers to political and economic control, but also the
'hegemonic culture’.
The bourgeoisie propagated their own values and norms so that
they became the "common sense" values of everyone in the
state, particularly those subordinated by it.
People in the working-class (and other classes) identified their
own good with the good of the bourgeoisie, and helped to
maintain the status quo rather than revolting.
There is a clear relationship between persuasion, consent and
occasional brute force involved in cultural hegemony.

4. Gramsci does not understand the 'state' in the narrow sense of the
government and instead, sees the ruling-class maintaining its
dominance over society in two different ways:
COERCION
This uses the 'political
society' (army, the police,
legal systems etc.) of the
capitalist state, to force
other classes to accept its
role.
CONSENT
(HEGEMONY)
This uses the 'civil society'
(family, education systems,
trade unions etc.) ideas and
values to persuade the
subordinate class that its rule
is legitimate. The civil society
are commonly seen as the
'private' or 'non-state' sphere,
who mediate between the state
and the economy.

5. HEGEMONY AND THE MASS MEDIA
Gramsci emphasizes struggle. He noted that 'common sense is not something
rigid and immobile, but is continually transforming itself'.
As Fiske (1992) puts it, ‘consent must be constantly won and rewon, for people's
material social experience constantly reminds them of the disadvantages of
subordination and thus poses a threat to the dominant class.'
In other words, hegemonic values and the social experience of the subordinate
class, means there is an inevitable site of ideological struggle where people
may reject hegemonic values based on their own experiences of poverty,
oppression etc.
It is argued that the mass media acts as an ideological 'site of struggle' as the
ruling-class rely heavily on consent to maintain their rule. Gramsci
recognizes that power needs constant negotiation, and believes that as long
as the dominant class are able to control influential institutions, such as
popular media, e.g. magazines, films, news etc the friction is eased.

6. CRITICISMS
Gramsci is criticised for how much he emphasises the ideas of the
individuals and how little he extends upon his idea of the impact of
the ‘coercion’. His theory fails to regard the significance of
economic factors.
For instance, a worker may wish to overthrow Capitalism, but resist
a revolution because they fear repression from the state or losing
their jobs.
Others may accept hegemony because they feel as if they cannot
change it; not simply because they accept the moral leadership.
Other sociologists using a Marxist framework, stress the role of ideas
and consciousness and how important it is for resisting dominance
and changing society.

7. HEGEMONY IN THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY
Record companies control production and
distribution of music. They promote bands/artists
that they deem profitable and ‘dump’
unprofitable bands/artists. Because they control
production and distribution, they can exert their
hegemonic power over the audience.
A surge in audience exposure to an artist via
advertising and marketing, generally means they
will attract a wider audience and generate a
higher profit.

8. GRAMSCI’S THEORY IN RELEVANT
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE (1)
Throughout the first decade of rock ‘n’ roll, major labels such as Capitol and
Atlantic, made sure that white culture reigned supreme. Such
corporations would only allow white men (Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Carl
Perkins etc.) become rich and famous from rock ‘n’ roll.
The truly famous celebrities in rock ‘n’ roll were always white. Some of the
most popular household names from this era include Buddy Holly, Bob
Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Black artists who chose to progress in this genre, were restricted to the
underground. A prime example is George Clinton’s band Funkadelic, who
synthesized a hybrid of soul, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and funk. Their lyrics
were inspired by the radicalism of black politics in Detroit, representing
the class wars that the state aimed to destroy.
Funkadelic were therefore completely ignored by the music industry, then
banned from the rock ‘n’ roll press and history books, despite their
incredibly influential style of music.

9. GRAMSCI’S THEORY IN RELEVANT
CONTEXTUAL PRACTICE (2)
It was the racial controversy of MTV in the early eighties that
sparked a revolution in commercial black music. Audiences
noticed that the first years of MTV were tainted with a
completely all-white playlist. As a result the fans staged a
protest, which MTV realized could have permanently damaged
their success, they later introduced Michael Jackson and later
Prince.
This demonstrates Gramsci's 'ideological state of struggle' as the
body of protestors rejected the hegemonic value that only white
males should be able to dominate mainstream music. Their
revolt allowed others to challenge the hegemonic culture, and
therefore induce a much needed social change by posing an
active threat to the prosperity of MTV.