Hebdige

In the reading Marx states, “ideology by definition thrives beneath consciousness. It is here, at the level of “normal common sense”, that ideological frames of reference are most firmly sedimented and most effective, because it is here that their ideological nature is most effectively concealed” (Hebdige 148). This quote about ideology is interesting because it is saying that ideology occurs when you don’t even know that it is happening and that it is most effective in this state of “normal common sense”. Common sense is something that a person either has or doesn’t have, but either way, it is not really thought about, just like ideology. We are exposed to all these different views (some are viewed as ideological, the right way) and without even knowing it, we begin to believe whatever it is telling us to believe. “Ideology thrives beneath consciousness” is saying that we need to look beneath what is obvious and realize that ideology happens in a nonconscious way. This relates to Barthes and his concept of “the gap” because it is telling us to almost read between the lines and look at what isn’t there, and that is where ideology is created.

On page 151 Gramsci states that hegemony is “not universal and given to the continuing rule of a particular class, but won, reproduced, and sustained…a moving equilibrium containing relations of forces favorable and unfavorable to this or that tendence” (Hebdige 151). This quote is saying that our hegemonic ideologies are not only always changing, but it also depends on the culture so it’s impossible that it could be universal. Going back to Marx when he talks about active agents, when it comes to hegemony it is the same idea-that we are the active agents and we decide what hegemony or ideology is in favor of.

A commodity is something that can be bought or sold. Hebdige states, “each new subculture establishes new trends, generates new looks and sounds which feed back into the appropriate industries” (Hebdige 155). I found this quote very interesting because it has a lot to do with what happens in the fashion/celebrity world today. I feel like every celebrity is trying to make a statement with their fashion and create attention and the best way to do that is through the media. Lady Gaga is a perfect example of someone who tries to establish new trends and looks which are fed to the appropriate industries (Fashion industry, media, etc) to create the “next big fashion statement”. So many people, who idolize celebrities, will see their new fashion statement, which will then be turned into a commodity because everyone will want to buy the clothing in order to be up to date with their fashion trends.

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