NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent acquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?




The Ian Tomlinson case was about an unarmed and innocent passerby who was struck in the back by a police officer on duty during the G20 summit. Ian Tomlinson subsequently died as a result of his injuries. The first stories arising about this was that he had died from natural causes, but later video footage emerged to show a police officer hit and push him to the ground. Traditional hegemonic views that have been presented by the media over a period of time in the UK that the police force is a force of good and that it is there to protect us. However, new and digital media has meant that things can now be challenged and that dominant hegemonic ideologies are not immune from scrutiny, as video footage which showed what "really" happened unpinned those moral and ethical values that the media portrays the Police to be.



2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0?


Traditional media, like Newspapers and billboard advertisements were used to reinforce an ideology from a group in power, but from what i understand, hegemony is a theory which states that audiences are conscious in there decisions to follow these views and to not challenge them. However, new and digital media is challenging this as it gives audiences the choice to challenge and to actively participate in talking out against the values that have been passed on. For example, I read about how the BBC portrayed the British royal family as a group of people to look up to and that they represented everything "British", these values are still around today, they are hegemonic views because we have accepted it as a society and choose to believe it, NDM has not made a significant difference in challenging this dominant ideology.



3) In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?


New and digital media can both reinforce dominant hegemonic views but it can also give the audience a platform to challenge them. New and digital media has given us a new medium to spread our views and values. Social media has given anyone the opportunity to spread whatever they please, whether this be people who still wish to reinforce dominant hegemonic views or those who wish to challenge them. That's not to say that reinforcing dominant hegemonic views is a bad thing some of them are good and are what we base some of our moral and ethical values on but now we know that we don't have to accept them as common and normal anymore because of new and digital media.





4) Do recent world events such as Brexit or Donald Trump's election in the US suggest dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged or reinforced? There are arguments for both sides here - explain your opinion and why.


Trump being elected does prove that anything can happen. Some may say that the media probably helped him win, just like the Sun in this country when they published the headline "It's the Sun what won it", the media does have a strong influence but they don't always reinforce dominant hegemonic views. Trump is an example of such, because the values that we have been taught leads to think that what a president looks like is a man like Bill Clinton. Many people voted for Trump because they wanted something "new" and "different", New and digital media is probably the main reason people want something different because it enables the audience to challenge dominant hegemonic ideologies.