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Power is defined as “the ability to do something or act in a particular way”. However, according to ‘The Era of Crowds’, power is something created from “invisible changes of human thought”, where creations of entirely new thought are results of modern scientific and industrial discoveries. It is also important to understand the psychological aspects heavily affect power. For example, “Napoleon had marvelous insight into the psychology of the masses of the country over which he reigned, but he, at times, completely misunderstood the psychology of the crowds belonging to other races, and it is because he thus misunderstood it that he in engaged in Spain, and notably in Russia, in conflicts in which his power received blows which were destined within a brief space of time to ruin it.” Power is also defined by a government in how they rule over the people, such as is hegemony.
 
Hegemony is leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group. In our society, for example, mass media is what serves as the “middleman” between the government and its people. People religiously follow the media without hesitation, and knowing this, the government uses that to its advantage. Noam Chomsky would argue that people would not allow themselves to be ruled if they are aware of the government and their actions (but that would not happen).
 
And in our society, consumer consumption is what keeps the economy going (the top priority in the eyes of the government). It is the idea of having or making and influencing people to follow so that power can be held over the people. For example, if a spectacle were to happen, the media would put a spin on their stories so that the people would side with whatever they say, because they are “supposed to be right” with their information.  Whatever the event or a scene would be, some form of spin or manipulation would take place behind the scenes in order to convey the message that the media (or the government) wants to convey to the people.
 
Pedagogy is the method and practice of teaching either as an academic subject or theoretical concept. According to Bell Hooks, Popular Culture is the best place for pedagogy; to learn about race, gender, society, and the people. Popular Culture defines all the ideas, attitudes, memes, perspectives, images, and mainstream content within a culture; especially the Western culture. Because we are a society that is heavily influenced by mass media, popular culture permeates our everyday lives. If one immerses themself within a popular culture, it is inevitable that they will pick up certain traits, perspectives, attitude, and behavior of that society.
 
Bell Hooks also talks about representation in media and popular culture, and how that influences our perceptions and understanding of people in the world. Although popular culture can be helping in teaching us about things that are not fully comprehendible in a traditional classroom, popular culture is also not a trustworthy place to learn for how people are represented depending on their race.
 
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, sexism is prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. This has always been an issue historically with the fight for women’s rights and the desire equality for all women in today’s world. And it relates very strongly to the history of ‘the gaze’.  Throughout history, women have always been subjected to “the male gaze”, making them the object of desire in oil paintings, magazines, and advertisements. It is forever ingrained within human minds that women “should be” objects for men to look at through all the imagery that we are surrounded by throughout our daily lives. It becomes inevitable that women are seen as solely objects for men because of how media uses the images and roles of women.

John Berger says that our “ways of looking” are influenced by the dominant idea of publicity and becoming dissatisfied with our way of life. And publicity is essentially the culture of the consumer society, which leads back to the point of hegemony and how our society is so easily consumed with the ever growing economy.