The concept of hegemony consists of an underlying consensus controlled by the people who own the means of production. In doing so, the people who own major corporations can maintain their domination through the use of hegemony. The media is greatly influenced by the concept of hegemony due to the underlying consensus being portrayed in today’s advertisements. The media reflects the ideas given by the owners of major corporations. Furthermore, I now have a better understanding of advertisements through the concept of hegemony.
After watching the crest advertisement below, I can see how the concept of hegemony was used within the commercial. There are hidden messages in the advertisement which show women’s arousal to the product of Crest. The Crest advertisement below(see link) shows Ryan Seacrest getting ready to work on a set with another woman. During the process of him getting ready he uses the product Crest to help make his breath smell good. As he is using the product there is a written message at the bottom of the screen that says, “Whitens teeth by removing surface stains.” Later on in the advertisement it is easy to tell that this isn’t the only message that is being displayed. Once Ryan is shown on the set with the other woman, the woman becomes aroused due to Ryan’s teeth and breath. In doing so, the woman moves closer into Ryan as he speaks. Therefore, the hidden message in this commercial is dealing with woman’s arousal to the product of Crest.
Examples like this commercial help me better understand how hegemony is used in today’s media. Whenever I think of the term “hegemony,” I think of the ability of major corporations to control the underlying messages in today’s media. These corporations affect the advertisements in our media by helping determine what is shown to the consumers of our economy.
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