Power

Power is the ability to control and influence the behavior of people with or without resistance. Having power in media and imagery is so massively influential. The power to manipulate images control the subconscious messages received by the consumer of that image. Power in media allows you to direct your media to portray your intended message or support your intended agenda. According to our reading ‘The Era of Crowds’, power is something created from “invisible changes of human thought”, where new thought processes are results of modern scientific and industrial discoveries.

Hegemony

Hegemony is essentially a form of power. It is where the 'leader state' hold governing power. This is evident today through the ruling class owning the majority of our resources and money. Alluding again to "The Era of Crowds' we read "the progressive growth of the power of the masses took place at first by the propagation of certain ideas, which have slowly implanted themselves in men's minds, and after-wards by gradual association of individuals bent on bringing about the realization of theoretical conceptions."

The Gaze

This term was coined by Jacques Lacan to describe the anxious state that comes with the awareness that one can be viewed. The subject loses a degree of autonomy upon realizing that he or she is a visible object. The Gaze also plays a role in how we receive and consume every image we come across on a given day. John Berger, in his book Ways of Seeing stated that "according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at."

Popular Culture

Popular culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are preferred by an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society. Who has power? According to Barbara Kruger, “In a society rife with purported information, we know that words have power, but usually when they don’t mean anything”. Kruger discusses how society communicates holds power which can also be compared with Gustave Le Bon’s writing in “The Era of the Crowds”. 

Sexism

Society has deep roots in sexism. Many of us have been subjected to it without even knowing. Almost every female wants to be and have what she sees the women on TV posses, as mentioned in Bell Hooks. Women always serve their intended purpose in imagery, to support the sterotypes. The hegemonic idea that most of us hold is that a family needs a strong male figurehead. He must subscribe to all the qualities the commercials say he should as well. 

Object, spectacle, and ways of looking are all interchangeable and relate-able. The object creates the spectacle, and our Way of looking comes into play in how we perceive that spectacle. It all revolves around the spectacle. In its limited sense,spectacle means the mass media, which are "its most glaring superficial manifestation." In Remote Control, B. Kruger writes “We are demi-living proof that the video camera has replaced the mirror as the refection of choice.” If we only see life through filters, then business will be blooming.

Consumer/Consumption

Consumers are the drivers of mass media. Consumption is driven by the imagery and media, and the messages they send you. The trends in what we consider 'important' will correlate with the trends of what the media owners want us to want. Advertisers find ways to manipulate what we want through consumerism tactics. Berger also argues about advertising and its ill effects on our consumption habits.