Blogs Week 3

I believe that hegemony is becoming less and less applicable in our world as time goes on. Now that most people are literate and somewhat knowledgeable we question more and more the decisions of the upper class. I feel that for the most part the masses are now the ones in control of how people view the world and what popular culture is. It seems that there is an ever changing shift of cultural control away from the upper class and into the hands of the masses. While hegemony still convinces us to want a bigger house and more expensive car many people are turning away from this ideal and wanting more simplicity and affordability. The fact that the majority of people cannot afford what the upper class deems as popular is a major factor in the shift of control. Necessity seems to be the largest factor in our purchases today especially with the economy on the downturn and worries of lost jobs increasing. While many people are secure at their job a growing number of companies are downsizing making the next big purchase of a more expensive car, house, suit, etc. less appealing. As time goes on I believe we will continue to question upper class decisions more and more making the notion of hegemony a thing of the past.

Blogs Week 2

I found the comparison between ancient Rome and our mass entertainment society very interesting because one could argue the same thing is happening with our government trying to keep the general public entertained with certain events. While the Roman governments built the Coliseum to entertain the masses, our governments build things like arenas and stadiums to house sporting events and concerts. The term bread and circuses was used to explain the act of the government trying to distract the masses by giving away free food and entertainment as to not make trouble for the upper class. Now people assume they have the right to have accessible entertainment facilities and put pressure on politicians to make it happen. In Canada many small towns and communities have hockey arenas even though they are rarely used during the weekdays. While a lot of money comes from sponsorship, fundraising and admission costs the “city” is often responsible for the upkeep. Government built entertainment facilities like arenas could be considered our governments “bread and circus” on today’s societies. The difference between the two ages bread and circuses act is that today it is much more profit based while in Roman times it was to keep the mob occupied while important decisions were made by the upper class. By building the Coliseum the Emperors of Rome made their citizens believe that they were cared for by the upper class while also showing how powerful he was by erecting a giant facility for entertainment.

Blogs Week 1

While historic powerful figures used art to show that power looks good, all of the powerful figures in today’s world use the media and strategically planned words to make themselves/power look good. Politicians are now using every media outlet to win elections and get their names out there. This recent election in the United States was the first to have an online debate by the two candidates showing us that the internet and computers are becoming one of the strongest ways to advertise oneself. While television is still the main source of entertainment for most people I feel that the computer has almost surpassed it in scale of importance in the home. From art to newspapers to television and the internet, today’s politicians are making use of every aspect of popular culture to try and win an election. The strength of many political leaders depends on their ability to make their decisions look intelligent and it is the job of the candidate’s cabinet to make this happen. The main way to make a political candidate look strong is through a strong speech. I feel that many candidates can make or break their candidacy when talking with the public which is why so many political leaders are so well spoken. This is also the reason that they have their speeches and public addresses written by professionals. I feel that George Bush lacked in his ability to talk to the public and make sense which is why many people lost faith in him. While sending troops into the Middle east was a difficult decision to get the public behind I feel that the Bush cabinet and the President himself did a poor job of trying to gain support for the cause. Even though many people agreed with the cause and purpose in the beginning the mission has lost much of its support after coming up empty handed.