Mass Communication vs. Ideology - Assignment Example

1J. The main purpose of the reading is to show how different ideas are used in any given society to craft a set of guiding principles as well as rules and regulations that would establish a common ground of understanding. Basically, this shows how other people have influence over others in terms of crafting the expected standards of behavior by the members of that society. The article is actually proposing that ideological values have to be entrenched within the cultural value system so as to attain a state of balance of power and authority whereby there would be a generally accepted way of doing things within a given society. 1K. In my own opinion, I think five main points of this reading are outlined as follows: it attempts to highlight how different cultures are structured in the ways that enable the group holding authority to have maximum control over the subjects of the society in such a way that there would be minimum conflict. Another point to take note of is the need of orientation or educating the people about the ideas that would determine the state of affairs in the society with reference to practicing power and control over other members of the society. The point emphasises on the need to give proper education to the people so that there would not be many problems of misunderstanding in the future that may affect the running of the state of affairs of any given society. Another major point outlined in the reading is the socialization aspect of human beings. We are socialized in different ways through different institutions such as churches, schools, families as well as other cultural forms. So, basically the success of any ideology is based on the notion that these new ideas have to take into consideration the value system of any given group. The way we are socialized determines or ought to shape the ideological structures of any particular society. It can be seen from the reading that the concept of social order mostly relies on the ability of other influential people in the society to influence other people to act in a certain way. Order in society can be achieved by virtue of establishing common ground of understanding that would see structures being put in place that would set guidelines of how people ought to operate in society. On the aspect of democracy, it can be noted that it has its own roots based on ideological values where political systems are designed to fulfill the needs and aspirations of the humans in a given body politic. Different ideologies would then be put in place so as to ensure that people at least strive to achieve their aspirations. 1L. My own opinion of reading this passage is that every society with its own cultural values has got its own ideologies that shape the proper functions of that society. According to wiseGEEK.com, ideology is used to refer to or describe the shared beliefs of a group of people for example a nation, a religious sect or a family. Simply put, ideology can be used to differentiate between different groups of thought. My opinion in this case is that each and every group of human beings has got its own ideals and shared values that are shaped by different cultural beliefs. Indeed an ideology is a collection of ideas. Sourced At its Core, the battle unfolding in the Middle East is more than a clash of arms. Thus according to George W. Bush, the U.S president’s radio address at the white house on January 5 2008, the battle can be described as an ideological struggle where on the other hand there is need to fight terror squads while on the other there is need to promote peace and tranquility. Whilst I would like to conquer with the notion of ideology to a certain extent, in that we all hail from different backgrounds therefore have different views and perceptions about the world view, it is also worth noting that it does not reflect the ideas of everyone in any given society. Thus according to Terry Eagleton (1991:2), “if ideology means any set of beliefs motivated by social interest, then it cannot simply signify the dominant forms of thought in a society.” In some cases the widely held ideologies do no necessarily reflect the ideas of everyone in society but the dominant ones only. On the other hand it can be seen that the different ideas that we have which shape our lives are to a large extent determined by our cultural values and beliefs. This is further supported by Mirriam Weber’s online dictionary which posits that ideology is concerned with a systematic body of concepts especially about social life. I would therefore certainly agree with the notion that ideology is shaped and informed by power structures. I am especially critical of the aspect that only the ideas of the dominant members of the society will sail through with reference to shaping ideologies. The definition of ideology has been very negative one in this particular case. It vests more power and authority on the powerful people in society. Evidence from an online research document titled, If the essence and appearance of things directly coincided, all science would be superfluous, 2005, also points to the notion that too much power is given to the ruling elite. It states that, ‘ideology conceals the contradictions between appearance and essence of society and therefore benefits the status quo and the ruling class.’ Another critical area is the lack of detail about religious issues that influence ideology. Indeed, religion is responsible for shaping the peoples beliefs and there are so many religions. Thus according to online notes on religion cited at revision notes.co.uk, “religion’s position is controlling forces in the universe that sustain the moral social order of the people. It validates life.” Indeed ideology is a framework of codes and religion is part of the ideology. The article usefully explores the concept of power and ideology. It explains how the dominant people in society would want to take advantage of their influence to shape ideology. In an article entitled, ‘The ideology of power and the power of Ideology’ cited from amazon.com 26 October 2008, ideology shapes power and authority and determines how the society is run and also the fact on how power can influence ideology. Basically this is the reality in most societies where those who control power seek to establish the status quo which may not be easy to contest on an individual basis. Meredith Miller (2007), also concurs with the point that an understanding of power relations in our culture is very important in understanding the ideological concept. She posits that an understanding of power relations in our culture would foster knowledge about how ideologies are shaped. From my own reading of the article, I think it ignores the concept of religion which forms a strong foundation of creating ideologies. Basically all people from all walks of life belong to one religion or the other. In this particular case, there is no religion which is superior to the other religions. This can be illustrated by an article in The Los Angels times entitled, Where religion, ideology and the web cross, 17 February 2008, where The college of William and Mary’s president quits following a clash after he ordered the removal of a brass cross from the chapel’s alter. To some, the cross signified their religion which sparked outrage after its removal hence the concept of religion should not be taken for granted. In another article entitled, Family ideologies, religion and teen dating practices, cited from allacademic.com, 2008, indicate that the behavior of teens is mostly influenced by the family ideologies on religion. Basically religion forms a great component of ideologies which is not clearly spelled in the article. More emphasis is on power and control rather. Basically, the strength of this article is that it attempts to highlight the structure and pattern of the system of authority and control. It must be borne in mind that in every society there is a hierarchy of authority and these usually are responsible for formulating ideologies and guidelines used to run that society. However, one major weakness seen from the article is that it ignores other important social factors that help influence orientations towards the social construction of authority such as religion. Thus, according to an online article titled, ‘Understanding authority: Theory, ideology and research practice,’ all social factors should be taken into consideration with regards to formulation of ideologies which I feel is one aspect that reveals the weakness of the article. In the globalised community of communication, the aspect of war on terrorism has become topical mainly emanating from different religious perspectives. All the nations entangled in a bitter war on terror have propounded various ideologies on the causes of terrorism. However, the dominant, powerful western nations hold the belief that Arabic nations are sponsoring war on terrorism. With the advent of new information technology, it is relatively easy for the powerful nations that control the world’s biggest news agencies such as BBC world service to give their own opinionated views that in some cases are contradictory to the views of the alleged nations responsible for sponsoring terrorism. Thus Ian Reader (2005) appeared on several radio interviews on matters relating to religious issues in the British and international Mass media. In a program entitled, Beyond belief on Radio 4, August 1 2005, he attempted to highlight some of the religious factors that are often taken for granted with regards to shaping of ideologies. In this case the world media may influence opinion on ideologies on terrorism while the accused nations would not get enough room to justify their beliefs. Thus, according to a journal entitled, The influence of affection and Ideology on Priming, 25 August 2003, the mass media have a powerful influence on shaping the ideologies held by different people. In this case, the mass media are responsible for shaping ideologies hence each nation should attempt to counter negative publicity by all powerful nations.. Indeed, this would certainly help to explain the situation in Singapore today. According to an article titled Communitarian ideology and democracy in Singapore (2007) only one political party has ruled that country for over a decade now but it has managed to formulate different ideas that have been used across the whole country to unify different people who collectively strive to improve their own material conditions. Singapore is basically a multi-racial country with different people from different countries across the world. However, Singapore’s economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world regardless of the body politic which has not changed for decades. So basically, it can be noted that home grown ideologies at times may help to transform economies contrary to other people’s views which may dismiss it as authoritarian rule. William Lee (2006) in his article entitled, Economic growth, Government Intervention and Ideology also posits that Singapore’s steady economic growth is attributed to policies and ideologies of the government. It can be noted that any aspect of development or economic growth cannot be totally divorced from ideological perspectives. Over and above, it can be seen that ideology is loosely referred to as a collection of ideas that are coined to form guiding principles that inform the expected behaviour in any given society, institution or country. These ideals are determined by various social factors. References What is Ideology? viewed on 26 October 2008. http://www.wisegeek.com/what is ideology Quotable quotes, viewed 28 October 2008. http://www.bookrags.com/quotes/ideology Terry Eagleton (1991), Ideology: An Introduction, Verso Publishers. Ian Reader (2004), Ideology, Academic inventions and Mystical Anthropology, Lancaster University. Mass Communication vs. Ideology, viewed on 25 October 2008. http://www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/east-asiastudies The influence of Affection and Ideology on Media priming, 25 August 2003. http://www.allacademic.com ‘If the essence and appearance of things directly coincided, all science would be superfluous.’ Does Marx’s dictum lead to novel insights? 24 October 2008. http://www.interconnected.org/mall Los Angels Times, Where religion, ideology and the web cross, 17 February 2008. http://www.articles.latimes.com Family ideologies, religion and teen dating practices, viewed on 25 October 2008. http://www.allacademic.com The Ideology of Power and the Power of Ideology, viewed on26 October 2008. http://www.muse.jhu.edu/journals Communitarian ideology and democracy in Singapore, viewed on 28 October 2008. http://www.ebookmall.comebook/85627-ebook-htm William Lee (2006), Economic growth, Government Intervention and Ideology in Singapore, Lingman College. Ideology in Singapore, viewed on 27 October 2008. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content Religion and ideology, viewed on 29 October 2008. http://www.revisionnotes.co.uk/revision/603html Read More