Hegemonic Design Present in elements of mass media

MEDIA TECHOLOGIES (MDT-1)

Submitted to: Mr. Khalid Rasheed
Submitted By: Syeda Zahra
2020-PGCMA-14 (Morning)
Date: 20th March, 2020
HEGEMONY:

Hegemony is simple terms can be described as, “Power of dominance that one social group holds
over the other”. It can be any social group that holds power over the other party in any aspect or
form.

Hegemony was a term that was coined by Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist philosopher.
Gramsci emphasized on the society's super structure and how society's echelons hold control
over meaning and power. According to him, mediums such as those of mass communication are
used by such people to infiltrate their own ideologies, culture and sense of morality among the
population. Mass media is especially important in this as it can introduce ideas into the minds of
people which otherwise would not exist there. Owners and managers of media technologies thus
have the greatest power of dominance as they can produce content and produce ideas that favors
their believes and ideologies way more conveniently than any other social group in the hierarchy.
It is thus, these people who have time after time reframed and converted the mentalities and
ideologies of people by repeatedly (and attractively) projecting their ideas on to the public
through various channels. It is also important to note here that such people of power always
introduce elements that would not be rejected by the society; while they did not exist previously
in the minds of the people at the same the ideas are projected in a light that would result them in
getting rejected by the society because hold so much in common with the cultural community of
the target audience.

ANALYSIS:

The music video chosen for this paper is called, “She will be loved” by Maroon 5 from their
album “Songs about Jane” it was released in 2004. Although it is a very old song and with times
the hegemonic standards change as well, my reasons for choosing this video was because of the
crudeness and openly male hegemonic ideas it contains and shows so confidently. As mentioned,
the paper will mainly analyze the video from a perspective of male gaze and male hegemony.
The music video of the song has a very soap opera feel and may seem like a regular music video
initially, but male gaze and white male dominance is very apparent, though in a subtle manner.
The idea “men act and women appear” also pops out through the video and objectification of
women can be seen at many points.

The story in the video consists of three main characters, and the main idea of the story revolves
around how the protagonist (who is the lead singer of the band, Adam Levine )who is in a
relationship with a girl but finds her mother (who is in a married and abusive relationship) more
attractive and throughout the video his mixed feelings for the mother is shown.

The video shows the protagonist, Levine, as a regular white man, his dressing and style doesn’t
make him appear to be very sophisticated or rich. The video starts with him staring into a
swimming pool and jumping in the water as flashbacks appear of two women walking down the
street; it is interesting to note here that though it is apparent that the protagonist who is looking at
the two women the placement of the camera is such that it is apparent that firstly the “gazer” is
inside a car and secondly that he is also across the street and thirdly the females are not aware of
this act of being looked at. Close ups of the both females are followed by that. Overall, the scene
has a very stalked feel to it (although there is a stalked vibe to the scene, the scene still has a very
normal tone). This is the very first one scene of the video and hence sets a similar tone (that of
possessiveness and male entitlement) and feel for the rest of the video.

As the music video progresses and the viewer is made aware of how the male protagonist is love-
struck by the female protagonist (i.e. mom of the girlfriend), which is shown in numerous scenes,
like soon after the first scene there’s a scene where the female protagonist is ignored by her
presumably husband, and in an act of jealousy she tries to get his attention, and in process getting
the attention of other men around the swimming pool. The repercussions of which are then
shown in the next scene when the male lead finds her on the floor in a room with apparent signs
of abuse (done by her partner) and when the guy finds her finds her on the floor and then by
coming to her aid in her time of distress, he comes of as a knight in shining amour, hence
cementing the idea of how women needs men to be saved and heal.

Another scene is where the Levine is singing in a bar, where his girlfriend is present as well and
as he sings on, we, the viewer realize that the female protagonist is present as well in the
audience. And she’s the one who he looks at while he sings. In the same scenario, he is later
shown to be dancing with his girlfriend with constant flashes of her mother being in place of her;
thus, depicting the protagonist's fantasies.

Not only Levine’s interest in the older lady is apparent. She also reciprocates in the some way, in
the scene mention earlier where he lifts to check if she’s okay, it is her who makes the first
sexual move, similarly, while Levine follows his girlfriend and her mother (the stalking scene
mentioned in the earlier paragraphs) there's another scene where the mother looks on to the
couple through a window and then drives away after Levine realizes she’s there, after having a
scorned look which brings to mind the quote, “hell hath no fury like that of a woman’s scorned”.

CONCLUSION:

An important question here arises; why is the case here being made of Male hegemony and
objectification of women from a perspective of Male Gaze when the lady’s actions are also
similar to that of the man’s (for instance both are cheating on their partners, not to mention that
in the beginning where the lady has been abused and Levine find her and picks her up to see if
she is fine, she is the one to make the move) The answer to that is definitely slightly tricky, but in
all fairness, I believe the reason for making this case lies majority in the fact that the protagonist
(Levine) provides the first point of view, and it is the one who has control that defines the ideas
being presented in any medium, which is this case is the band, which being male dominant
(along the producers and crew as well) are the ones who are controlling what is being shown to
the audience.

Another interesting aspect which strengthens the case is the fact that throughout the video, the
lady has been show to seek attention of her partner/husband (the lack of which is probably the
reason as to why she cheats) the tone which is mainly set in the initials scenes (swimming pool
scene, which been mentioned in the beginning as well) when her partner doesn’t respond to her
and ignores her – which then makes her seek attention of other men around the pool. Seeking
love isn’t a bad thing, and her attitude when looked through a perspective of psychology and
normal human behavior is completely understandable, but the videos demonstration of that
woman’s need for love gives the appearance and vibe of;

A- it is the only thing that’s needed by women and

B- there is only one type of love that needed by the women i.e. the sexual kind

These ideas not only sexualizes the character of all women, it also gives a very shallow outlook
to the women because throughout this video and various other platforms. Lack of dimension of
these characters also cements these ideas.

Another interesting thing to note here is that the end it is shown that the girlfriend was already
aware of her boyfriend having affair with his mother (which is demonstrated right at the end of
the video) but shows no knowledge or expresses any disbelief or anger throughout the video
(except for a single fight, the cause which is never made aware of). This attitude of the girlfriend
further reinforces the idea that a single man is enough for two women, and that women are
desperate enough to be loved that can be satisfied very easily. Also justifying the men’s attitude/
behavior and normalizing cheating/ two timings but making it seem very normal and bearable.

Overall, in conclusion I believe that is video covers and represents very good examples of male
gaze and hegemony. By emphasizing on the same old hegemonic ideas about masculinity and
femininity and their role in society. This video like many others have embedded the same
believes of male supremacy and expected submissive nature of women by the society. It has
justified things and actions which when isolated and then thought of seem very unethical and
would not be tolerated, especially by men (for example the concept two timing/ cheating) as well
as stalking and openly staring/ objectifying a unrelated woman. All these when thought of
individually seem very wrong and if described would probably fall under a villains character
description, but in this case study, all of descriptors are under the “hero's” category and have
been justified and shown from a perspective where not only are they justifiable but ironically
would also be appreciated.

As Stuart Hall said, “... Framing of all competing definitions of reality within (the dominant
class’s) range, bringing all alternatives within their horizons of thought. (The dominant class)
sets the limits - mental and structural – within which subordinate classes ‘live’ and make a sense
of their subordination in such a way as to sustain the dominance of those ruling over them”. By
analyzing this quote, it makes sense that the dominant class in which this case the men are slowly
and subtly bringing the subordinate class under their horizon of thought. This is the most potent
form of hegemony and biggest strength of mass media, that it subtly influences the minds of their
audience to perceive the social routine their personal activities.

REFRENCES:
The music video: https://youtu.be/nIjVuRTm-dc
Adam Levine Spills the True Story Behind Maroon 5's 'She Will Be Loved' https://youtu.be/STgSzhCdTsc
The Song's Hidden Secrets...| Maroon 5, She Will Be Loved Analysis https://youtu.be/q1lX3rPP0-Q
Text from Hegemony by James Lull