Hegemony and the Media

Gramsci differed from Marxism in that he credited a force other than capitalism, namely “intellectual or moral leadership” as capable of inspiring change. Therefore, intellectual men are critical to a society as they mastermind an ideology, which is then imposed on the others. This created dominant culture is so thoroughly instilled in the people that they no longer see it as an imposition, but instead accept in unquestioningly.
It would be futile to reject Gramsci’s idea. Although it is an insult to our intelligence, this assignment forced me to recognize this phenomenon in our everyday life. For lack of imagination, the easiest place to start would be a quick glance at our voting practices. It was the favorite diatribe of a political science professor of mine, to bemoan the lack of democracy in our voting system. I preface these next sentences by stating that this was the position of the professor and not my own. However, he frequently reminded us that our practice of voting, going to the booths and punching the ballots is a farce. Essentially our vote is meaningless (so said my professor) because the ultimate vote, the only vote that counts, is the one places by the Electoral College, and this final vote does not necessarily bear any semblance to how the people of that district voted. This was his theory as to how Bush got his place in the White House, twice.
I also found another illusion of choice or illusion of freedom rather, in our media/press. It always bothered me that while we are given the promise of full disclosure, but in reality, the only news that we receive is what the New York Times or CNN (fill in your paper of choice) chooses to cover. Imagine for example that a man decides to run for president. His platform and campaign trail will only reach the people if the media decides to cover it. We are at the mercy of the media. Although it can be argued that the internet is a medium for spreading information, without having to rely on mass media, but honestly, no one would know to look at the website if the candidate’s name was not previously featured in the news.
It is disconcerting to consider how Gramsci’s theory is still apropos to today.