Gramscis Notion of Hegemony in Relation to the Youths of Today - Research Paper Example

Gramsci’s Notion of Hegemony in Relation to the Youths of Today Introduction By the term hegemony, one would readily associate it to the issue on “power struggle,” suggesting a political approach. Nonetheless, hegemony could actually be related to other aspects. It should be studied in relation to other matters which could explain more of its attributes and make clear some of its questionable notions. Significantly, an aspect of hegemony could be understood through the study of the behavior and ideology of today’s youth. A particular author has proposed a new concept of hegemony which is relevant to the plight of the present young generation. In exposing the other side of hegemony, Antonio Gramsci has emphasized the importance of making use of one’s intellect in changing the face of the society. In lieu of this fact, the essay will discuss Gramsci’s notion of hegemony and its relation to the youths of today. Gramsci’s Notion of Hegemony Gramsci explains the intellectual aspect of hegemony, suggesting an intellectual struggle instead of power or political struggle. This supports the introductory argument saying that hegemony could actually be understood in light of its other aspects. Intellectual hegemony exists for a fact according to Gramsci. He believes that intellectual and cultural activities could also affect social change and not just an economic change (Cuff, et al., 1998). To note, in political economy, hegemony is actually associated to the struggle of economic power in the international arena. To effect an economic change, a particular country applies soft power to influence the economic system of other nations. Certain cultures are used to achieve an economic domination. Nonetheless, for Gramsci, hegemony could actually be viewed in terms of social manipulation. The members of the society could be made to affirm a particular belief or practice through the application of some intellectual activities. Antonio Gramsci actually considers ideas as weapons to change the present state of affairs of the different societies in the world (Cuff, et al., 1998). To note, these ideas are expressed and relayed upon by the influential sectors of the society such as the media. For an idea to have a hegemonic effect, it should be spread to a great number of people. The media is very significant to achieve this objective. It has the ability to influence the thinking of a person by just presenting an idea. It is in this sense that the media could manipulate the thoughts and actions of the members of a particular community. Nonetheless, so as to be in accordance with Gramsci’s notion, the idea which is to be relayed by the media should be one which is aimed at changing the society. What is to be changed is of course the bad image of a particular community. However, for a change to occur there has to be an agent. Relevantly, the youths of today could fill up this need. They could be an effective instrument for social change to happen with the help of the media. In changing the society, there has to be intellectual domination. This means that a certain idea has to be instilled in the people’s mind. The installation however, should be one which could not allow any outside factors to make an opposite claim. In this instance, the members of the society are able to resist any position which is inconsistent to what they have been exposed to. This is to say that for an intellectual domination to take place, the members of the society must learn to adhere to a common idea. The Youths of Today To emphasize, the youths are the ones primarily influenced by the media (Scheibe, n.d. cited in Mazzarella, 2007, p.61). They are the ones who are most exposed to the ideas that the media introduces. Accordingly, the dominant ideology believed in by today’s youth is a product of media’s manipulation. This proves the efficacy of media’s manipulative power. If this attribute is used for the betterment of the society, then the media would be seen as essential in creating the intellectual domination which Gramsci refers to in his formulation of hegemony. Based on the agenda-setting theory, the media has the ability to set the agenda for the public (Kott & Citrenbaum, 2010). What the media portrays could in fact affect the person’s understanding of an issue. In such case, it is important that the media presents the information in an unbiased way. The youths of today are described to be fearless as they are not afraid in voicing out their ideas and concerns; they speak their mind according to the article Are today’s youth more disrespectful? (Anon., 2001). As a matter of fact, their being idealistic has transformed into a form of militant action known as youth activism. They have been actively involved in some public issues by doing protests and demonstrations. This proves that the youths actually have the ability to achieve change. By showing vigorous action towards a public issue, they alert government authorities and instill awareness among the people. In such case, it is very important that they only receive correct information. To note, what they know could eventually affect the other members of the community. If they receive the incorrect information, they could not possibly offer a proper solution to social problems and could even cause political chaos. The media in this sense plays a significant role. As of the present, the youths could actually access information with regard to matters of public concern through the different forms of mass media whether print, broadcast or electronic media. In terms of the number of users, e-media would have the number one spot, followed by print media and broadcast media respectively. This ranking only reflects the modern world of today. There have been various technologies used by the youths to gather and stock information. It is quite amazing how they adopt to these technologies (Davies, 2010). Significantly, of the three, the electronic media is the one with the highest degree of accessibility. It is becoming a trend among the young people. It has been observed that most of the youths use technologies which offer an access to the internet. The internet makes it possible for the youth to be exposed to many kinds of information. For instance, when using a particular website, a young individual could have as many options as he or she would expect by just entering a word. This media attribute could affect how the youth formulates his or her idea with regard to a public issue. The radical change theory supports this finding. According to this theory, because of the digital age principles (connectivity, interactivity and access), the youths experience the following changes: (1) changes in their perceptions (2) changes in how they analyze and learn and (3) changes in the information and ideas to which they have access (Sipe & Pantaleo, 2008). The Relation In accordance with Gramsci’s notion of hegemony, the youths of today could actually be used as the instrument to effect societal change. The reason of which is that the youths are very idealistic. They could effectively change the face of society because of their seemingly fixed perception on things. When the youths learn an idea, they have the tendency to adhere on it. They have the propensity to defend what they believe is correct. In other words, they are naturally forceful and persistent as to their ideas. In a way, the youths value the ideal state of affairs. This goes to say that they view things in one perspective, favoring the side which they consider as proper and desirable. This tendency actually affects the way they perceive an issue. Being one-sided caused them to disregard the other aspects which need to be explored in order to understand the issue in the most comprehensive way. Another distinguishing feature of today’s youth is that they are optimistic. This is particularly observed among youth activists. It seems that they do not lose hope. They are always optimistic with regard to the time of change. They have a very firm conviction to the point that almost everything is possible for them. These characteristics satisfy Gramsci’s thinking that ideas are actually weapons to achieve societal change. It is actually the ideas of the youths that motivate them to do certain things. In shaping the youth’s perception about societal change, the media plays a significant role. Guided by Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, it is contended that the media is the most appropriate tool to use to achieve the so called intellectual domination. The media in this sense is accorded with the responsibility of instilling in the minds of the youths the value of societal change. In stressing the importance of societal change, the media is expected to present the information which could prove the need to change and the practical ways of achieving it. Perhaps, the best way for the media to satisfy this requirement is to cite the current problems of society. For instance, it could present an article which discusses corruption as a constant challenge to the communities belonging to the third world. It is important however that the article is free from any form of bias and true to its expositions. Given that fact, the youth readers are expected to understand more the term corruption, its causes and effects. Also, it is anticipated that they will consider the social problem as relevant to be exposed to the public. This connotes that they will become active in preventing the spread of corrupt practices and punishing the corrupt government officials. Doing protests and several media appearances could help the youths achieve the aforementioned causes. It is believed that through these methods, the youths could make the public aware of the social problem and do something to help them. The other members of the community could help stop the problem by divulging the government employees who are guilty of corruption. In another aspect, the youths are the proper subjects to be cited in relation to Gramsci’s idea of hegemony since they are the hope of the next generation. In a sense, it is their responsibility to do well for the present society as a whole and change any aspect of it which would cause harm to the succeeding youths. Somehow, Gramsci wants to have the most responsible agent to act for change as he was talking about an arena of social struggle, of resistance and domination (Cuff, et al., 1998). It would be inconsistent to his idea of hegemony if he intends to use the weak members of the community. The strong and active character of the youth could in fact qualify with Gramsci’s desired state of resistance and domination. The youths are the ones most able to attain the cited state. To dominate the society would be easy for the youths not because of their large population but due to their idealistic minds. Nonetheless, with the resistance part, it is claimed that they need more power and influence to resist the unjustifiable authority of the bad sectors of society. For the youths to gain power, it is always best for them to ask the support of the other members of the community. They could only achieve intellectual domination if they are able to influence the source of society’s strength. It is a good practice for the youths to be actively involved in addressing the problems of the community. This practice could actually be handed down to the next generation. There is a possibility later on that it will become a culture. Relevantly, Gramsci has also cited the importance of cultural activities in changing the society. For him, cultures along with ideas could actually be made as weapons for societal change to take into place. Conclusion Gramsci’s concept of hegemony is indeed related to the behavior of today’s youth. Youth activism is the most significant aspect which could justify the relation. The active and strong character of the present young generation is in accordance with Gramsci’s desired hegemonic state. Significantly, the media has a great role to play in order for the youths to achieve the goal of societal change. The way media presents facts and information could eventually affect the way the youths handle a social problem. In such case, there is a need for the media to sift any information that it will relay to the public. References Anonymous, 2001. Are today’s youth more disrespectful? JET, 16 Jul., 100 (5), pp.26-27. Cuff, E. C. Sharrock, W. W. & Francis, D. W., 1998. Perspectives in sociology. 4th ed. New York: Routledge. Davies, N., 2010. The youth of today. [Online] Available at: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/abs/html/mags/pc/2010/03 /mpc2010030002.htm [Accessed 13 April 2011]. Kott, A. & Citrenbaum, G., 2010. Estimating impact: a handbook of computational methods and models for anticipating economic, social, political and security effects in international interventions. Maryland: Springer. Mazzarella, S., 2007. Twenty questions about youth & the media. New York: Peter Lang. Sipe, L. & Pantaleo, S. J., 2008. Postmodern picturebooks: play, parody, and self-referentiality. New York: Routledge. Read More