MIGRAIN: Ideology and binary opposition

The media's role in setting and reinforcing the dominant values and ideologies within society is a vital aspect of A Level Media Studies. 

The key notes from today's lesson on ideology and binary opposition:

Ideology

What is an ideology?
An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Dominant ideologies

Ideologies that are told to us repeatedly by important social institutions such as the government or media are called dominant ideologies.

Dominant ideologies are ideologies or beliefs that we live by in our day-to-day lives and often do not question – they have become 'natural, common sense' things to do. This effectively dissuades people from rebelling against these beliefs, and keeps a sense of stability in society.

Why is ideology important in Media Studies?

Media texts always reflect certain values or ideologies though sometimes we may not be aware of this. When studying a media text you may look for the dominant ideology present and question whose world view is represented and perhaps which groups have not been represented.

Levi-Strauss: Binary opposition

Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) was a French philosopher and one of the most important cultural theorists of the 20th century. 

His theory of binary opposition is important for media students.

Levi-Strauss suggested everyone thinks of the world around them in terms of binary opposites such as up and down, life and death etc. and therefore every culture can be understood in these terms. 

Binary opposition in media

Binary opposition is used to create narrative and conflict in media. It is also used to simplify complex situations for easy consumption (e.g. TV news).

Along similar lines, if something is not easily reduced to binary opposites, it is far less likely to receive widespread media coverage.

Binary oppositions can be used to create stereotypes and promote certain ideologies or beliefs.

Blog task: binary oppositions and ideology

Watch this clip from BBC Question Time with Russell Brand and Nigel Farage. The BBC deliberately placed the two against each other and the episode resulted in far more people watching and tweeting than usual.

1) What examples of binary opposition can you suggest from watching this clip?

2) What ideologies are on display in this clip?

Embed the video into your blog (as above) and answer these two questions in full paragraphs.

Ideology and your own choice of clip

Now do the same activity for a clip of your choice. Embed the YouTube video in your blog and answer the questions in detail:

1) What examples of binary opposition can you suggest from watching your clip?

2) What ideologies are on display in your clip?


Complete for homework if you don't finish it in the lesson - due next week.