Ideology
Narrative and Ideology is the study of stories and the societies that produce them.
Simply put, Ideology is the values and beliefs that underpin a society. These values and beliefs shape and influence the content of the media that a particular society produces. For this reason, a media product can be seen as a cultural artifact of its time. Ideologies in film can frame the nature and structure of narratives through the storylines or the actions and attitudes of the characters.
Think about how some media products that were made before you were born seem to reflect such controversial ideologies. For example, in the 60s (before the feminist movement gained traction) many media products would reflect the explicit ideology that a woman’s place was in the home. That was seen as a dominant belief 50 years ago, but for audiences now, that would certainly be an oppositional ideological viewpoint.
Explicit ideologies in narratives are values and beliefs that are obviously constructed to persuade the audience think a certain way. These are most obvious in news reports or documentaries.
Implicit ideologies are viewpoints and beliefs that are constructed in the undertone of a narrative and are not always as explicit. Perhaps the undertone of a film may suggest a new way for the audience to think? Think about the subtle feminism ideals in Frozen or even Vegan undertones in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Neutral ideologies are viewpoints and beliefs which are designed to entertain the audience and are not constructed to persuade one or or another.
Simply put, Ideology is the values and beliefs that underpin a society. These values and beliefs shape and influence the content of the media that a particular society produces. For this reason, a media product can be seen as a cultural artifact of its time. Ideologies in film can frame the nature and structure of narratives through the storylines or the actions and attitudes of the characters.
Think about how some media products that were made before you were born seem to reflect such controversial ideologies. For example, in the 60s (before the feminist movement gained traction) many media products would reflect the explicit ideology that a woman’s place was in the home. That was seen as a dominant belief 50 years ago, but for audiences now, that would certainly be an oppositional ideological viewpoint.
Explicit ideologies in narratives are values and beliefs that are obviously constructed to persuade the audience think a certain way. These are most obvious in news reports or documentaries.
Implicit ideologies are viewpoints and beliefs that are constructed in the undertone of a narrative and are not always as explicit. Perhaps the undertone of a film may suggest a new way for the audience to think? Think about the subtle feminism ideals in Frozen or even Vegan undertones in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Neutral ideologies are viewpoints and beliefs which are designed to entertain the audience and are not constructed to persuade one or or another.
Ideological Contexts
When considering the Ideological Viewpoints evident in a media product, you need to consider the contexts under which the Media Product was created. These are the social, cultural and institutional contexts.
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Social context
This is the social conditions and discourses in society that helped shape the media product. (A discourse is a discussion in society. Discourses are evident in the inter-relationship between media texts, its creators and the consumers.) To understand the Ideologies evident in narratives, you need to understand what was happening in society at the time they were made. Get Out was made in a post Obama (and a falsely conceived post-racism) era (2017). It was also produced at a time when African Americans were protesting about their constant mistreatment at the hands of others. The #BlackLivesMatter movement was at its height after many incidents like the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida and Michael Brown in Ferguson. Social discourses such as race, libertarianism and slavery are evident in the film. American Beauty was created at the end of the 20th century (1999) during the Clinton presidency. At the time social discourses surrounding sexual misconduct were popular due to the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. This affair closely mirrored the storyline in American Beauty. You will notice that affairs with a great power imbalance were not considered as predatory as they are now. This can be evidenced in Clinton’s increase in popularity after the affair. This has obviously changed a great deal over the course of the past 20 years due to social movements such as the #metoo movement which grew in popularity after Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein was accused and eventually convicted of abusing his position of power over young Hollywood actresses by forcing them into inappropriate sexual contact. |
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Cultural context
This refers to the cultural field that the media product was produced within. This includes genre, race, country, cultural groups, etc.
Get Out was produced within the cultural context of the African American condition in 2017. Jordan Peele felt frustrated by what was happening in society. In the film he satirises the notion that having a black president has changed race relations for the better. He skewers progressive liberal attitudes and suggests that these kinds of people are quite often just virtue signalling. Finally, he highlights the systems of oppression that have been keeping people of colour from equality. The ‘sunken place’ is a symbolic metaphor for how Peele felt African Americans were currently being treated. Peele says:
"the sunken place is this metaphor for the system that is suppressing the freedom of black people, of many outsiders, many minorities. The reason Chris in the film is falling into this place, being forced to watch this screen, that no matter how hard he screams at the screen he can’t get agency across. He’s not represented."
American Beauty was produced within the cultural context of the average every-day American’s experience of the working upper-middle class at the turn of the century. The end of the 90s was also quite a restless time in history. People were eager for the 90s to be over and a new millennium to begin. That sense of restlessness and waiting for the next chapter can be found in the amount of films that explored existential themes in the late 90s such as Fight Club, The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc. These movies explored what it feels like to feel great dissatisfaction with life and how to effect change.
How to remember the difference between Cultural and Social contexts:
Remember that social context is concerned with what was happening in society at the time (so think of social context on a large scale, EG: Western society) and cultural context is concerned with the culture of the people whom made the film and who the film was made for (so think of it on a smaller scale, EG: African American culture)
Institutional context
Whether Hollywood or Bollywood or independent releases... films are the products of the institutions that create them. Institutions develop, cast, fund and distribute each film differently. The way a film is funded, distributed and marketed can fundamentally affect the audiences consumption and reception of a film. Often independent releases are not beholden to the ideological constraints of a larger institution like Hollywood so they can tackle more controversial and divisive topics such as race and sexuality.
Media products can quite often reflect the values of the institutions that create them. However, money talks and institutions may decide to edit and change media products in order to distribute in specific regions of the world. Hollywood films are quite often beholden to the values and beliefs of other countries in which they wish to distribute. For example, in China films are often edited to suit the lucrative Chinese market. This can be seen in films like “Red Dawn’ which swapped the Chinese antagonists for North Korean ones, or Looper which digitally replaced all its Paris locations to Shanghai.
Josh Mackie (class of '21) wrote about how institutions can influence the relationship between audiences and narratives. he wrote:
"The Institutional context of production entails exactly who creates a certain product, referring to the organisations and individuals involved, as well as conditions such as budget. The relationship held between a media narrative and its audiences can be affected by these factors, when taking in mind the source of the production. For example, large production companies such as Marvel have gained such a reputation that films produced under their name immediately garner a positive response in many fans of their work. Even films that would otherwise be considered mediocre can appeal to a viewer's previous experiences, which in the case of Marvel, generally means large-scale superhero movies. Many criticise the company for this very reason, arguing that a film such as Infinity War would not have gained the spot as the top grossing film of all time if not for the company's firm hold on loyal fans and casual viewers alike. On the other hand, independent films often struggle to establish such connections as audiences are largely unfamiliar with the producer's works. When the institutional context in which a product is created is unfamiliar to a viewer, it is much harder for them to establish a positive connection with said product or producer. This forces many creators to adopt specific brands so that viewers can always know what it is they will be consuming. One who watches a Marvel movie expects a superhero flick, one who watches a Blumhouse production expects horror and one who watches an Edgar Wright film expects fast-paced comedy. In some cases, creators can subvert these expectations in order to create something fresh - such as in Wright's new thriller film 'Last Night in Soho' - but in most cases, audiences maintain connections with narratives based on the institutions that produce them."
American Beauty was a product of well-established people and companies in Hollywood. It was filmed on a large budget, directed by critically acclaimed director Sam Mendes, staring award winning actor Annette Benning and Kevin Spacey and distributed by DreamWorks. Upon release it was praised by critics. As part of the Hollywood system it was nominated for many Acadamy Awards and won 5. Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay. On top of all this praise the film was marketed by using sex to sell. The posters and trailers were deliberately provocative. This significantly heightened the audience expectations of the film.
Get Out was a passion project for director Jordan Peele. As his first major motion picture, audiences had no expectations from him. What he created was a satire/horror that addressed a subject matter that was important to him and people of his culture. So because Jordan Peele hadn’t made a film before there were no expectations on what he should/shouldn’t make. So he made a film that was based on his experiences. Universal was the major distributor, but because the film was a huge risk (both content wise and because the director was a famous comedic actor turned first time horror director) a decision was made to test the film at a secret screening at the Sundance film festival. Audiences enjoyed the film and loved the social commentary, but felt the ending in which Chris is arrested by the police too depressing. Even though Peele felt that the ending was true of the African American experience, a decision was made to change the ending to a happier one. read more about that here
Ideologies in Get Out and American Beauty
Both films share a similar themes about ‘fitting in.’ In American Beauty, Lester struggles to fit into his perfect life that he has become so resentful of. In Get Out, Chris struggles to fit in to the overly caffeinated and subconsciously racial world of his girlfriend’s family. Both protagonists also feel trapped by ideologies of the time period. For example, Lester feels trapped by the western ideology that in order to be considered worthy you must own material possessions, have a happy family, a successful career, etc. In essence the ideology of the ‘American dream’ acts like a prison cell for him (confinement and imprisonment are evident themes in the film too!) In Get Out, Chris feels suffocated by Dean and Missy's insufferable progressive attitudes. This is a satircal dig at the falsehood that America is somehow living in a post-racial era since the Obama presidency. Everyone in the film is so overly nice to him, so keen to point out how much they love his race. He cant be seen as anything except an African American. In their efforts to make him feel accepted, he feels more singled out than ever.
The ideologies in American Beauty:
American beauty is unique in the sense that it is a criticism of popular western ideologies. The Pursuit of Happiness and The American Dream are ingrained in American (and all western) culture as rights we deserve and privileges that we should aspire to respectively. In American Beauty, Sam Mendes may seem to celebrate the virtues of pursuing your wants and dreams in the first half of the film. However, the audience understands the clever implicit meaning as the film progresses. We are privy to the effects of Lester's selfish behaviour on his wife Carolyn and his daughter Jane. As the film progresses the criticism of those ideologies becomes more explicit and by the end we understand what Sam Mendes intended: To challenge our strongly held beliefs in western society. He criticises and challenges:
- That in order to be considered worthy you must have a successful job, happy family and material possessions (this ideology is challenged by Lester’s actions throughout the film). Otherwise known as 'The American Dream'
- That everyone deserves the right to pursue their own form of happiness (this ideology is adopted by Lester and Carolyn in the film, however, they both peruse a false happiness in spite of each other). Otherwise known as 'the Pursuit of Happiness
The ideologies in Get Out:
First and Foremost, Get Out reflects the ideological world view of its writer/director, Jordan Peele. Being African American himself, he understands the current African American condition. He knows what it is like to be black in 2017. To deal with underhanded racism, overcompensations, micro aggressions, etc. Get Out is a film that helps the audience understand this ideological viewpoint: That African Americans still suffer from great social prejudice and that racism is not always explicit. The oppression of African Americans continues, just in a different way. We can also see hints of other ideologies that Peel subverts and satirises such as:
First and Foremost, Get Out reflects the ideological world view of its writer/director, Jordan Peele. Being African American himself, he understands the current African American condition. He knows what it is like to be black in 2017. To deal with underhanded racism, overcompensations, micro aggressions, etc. Get Out is a film that helps the audience understand this ideological viewpoint: That African Americans still suffer from great social prejudice and that racism is not always explicit. The oppression of African Americans continues, just in a different way. We can also see hints of other ideologies that Peel subverts and satirises such as:
- White Liberalism. The viewpoint that white people need to overcompensate and make up for the sins of the ancestors. Dean and Missy certainly come across as the progressive liberal white folk in the film. On a wider scale, in 2017 there was a sense that America is living in a post-racial era since the Obama Presidency. Like racism had somehow vanished and America was now a progressive and liberal country. Get Out satirises this idea by making African Americans so desirable that the white characters want to inhabit their bodies. The movie reveals the thin facade of the white liberal and the fine line between white liberal and white supremest.
- Colonialism and white supremacy. This is the ideology of colonisation based on the doctrine of cultural superiority, hierarchy and supremacy. We see hints of this implicit ideology in moments in the film such as the silent slave auction, the supposed black servants in the Armitage family, Dean's love of collecting items from other cultures, Missy's name (which is short for mistress - a common name for a female slave owner)... however this ideology is exaggerated in the film... at the beginning we only get hints and clues to colonialist ideology, however by the last act of the film we come to understand the extreme cultural appropriation that is taking place. The white characters in the film love African American bodies so much that they want to physically inhabit them.
- "fairer skin has been in favour for what? the last couple of hundred of years? But now the pendulum has swung back. BLACK is now in fashion ." - Partygoer, Get Out
How to recognise Ideology in film and television
Have a look at the following intros to Superman from the 50s and Wonder Woman from the 70s:
Superman (1950's) |
Wonder Woman (1970s) |
Superman: The 1950s was just after the end of WW2 and the beginning of peacetime and the American Dream. American pride in economic nation building and infrastructure projects was at the forefront of American ideology. Can you see how the introduction to superman reflects American industry? (locomotives, skyscrapers, etc) and pride in the all American white male?
Wonder Woman: The 1970s saw the rise of the feminist movement and the continuation of the American war in Vietnam 🇻🇳. Women were fighting to be treated as equal to men and nationalism in the American war effort was at its peak. Can you see how the opening of Wonder Woman reflects these ideologies? Wonder Woman literally breaks the bonds that have been holding women back. She is powerful and tough, but still has her man (an American Colonel in the army) by her side.
Wonder Woman: The 1970s saw the rise of the feminist movement and the continuation of the American war in Vietnam 🇻🇳. Women were fighting to be treated as equal to men and nationalism in the American war effort was at its peak. Can you see how the opening of Wonder Woman reflects these ideologies? Wonder Woman literally breaks the bonds that have been holding women back. She is powerful and tough, but still has her man (an American Colonel in the army) by her side.
How Ideologies shape media narratives
Audiences and their values change over time and this can often be found in the media we produce. Have a look at the interesting examples below:
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Aladdin is an interesting case study in changing values. The original Disney animated version was released in 1992 while the remake was released 27 years later in 2019. Over that time, audiences have become more socially conscious and representations of race and gender in the original film are now somewhat uncomfortable through a 2019 lens. The sexualisation of Jasmine is scrapped and replaced with a new song 'Speechless' that gives her character more agency over her situation. Also, barbaric representations of Arab characters are toned down for the 2019 remake.
JASMINE - 2:47 ARABIAN NIGHTS - 8:03 |
