Zizek on Ideology and the Relationship Between Ideology and "The Real"

Conflicts that arise from particular ways of seeing the world are made evident through the shaping of texts. In Barry Levinson’s film “Wag the Dog” and Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11”, it is clear that the perspectives in which the audience views the world create particular conflicts. In both texts, the conflicting perspectives arise from the way the naïve public views the world and the way that the government and media view the world through their particular agendas.

While rhetoric plays a critical role in persuasion and manipulation of one’s thought, propaganda could not exist without the myths that rhetoric articulates. O’Shaughnessy (2004) sees myths as critical to society’s integration and sustenance. Myths provide a common cultural vocabulary, they unite, they flatter, they establish a balanced relationship with the past and therefore, most propaganda is concerned with the confection of them. For Hosking and Schopflin (1997) myth is the narrative, the set of ideas. As exemplar of approved patterns of behavior, myth is a conceptual prerequisite of propaganda. Myth has an inherent plasticity that can be invoked and recast for an entirely different purpose. Propaganda, thus, is in part the judicious refurbishment

Media has the power to determine how we perceive world events. Just as Happer and Philo say, “…they [the media] are key to the setting of agendas and focusing public interest on particular subjects, which operates to limit the range of arguments and perspectives that inform public debate (Happer & Philo, 2013). Society for years has relied on the media to inform us of what is happening around the world, and whether we like it or not, what they choose to show us or not show us affects our opinions. Since people don’t have the ability to be in these situations and see for ourselves, they must be dependent on someone else to inform them. We

First of all, the actual analysis calls the reader to analyze the ideology behind the message. For instance, in this dissertation analyzing the US and China's propaganda during the Korean War ideology could be Capitalism and Communism respectively. However, this section could go beyond general definitions of the ideologies, and could also include such sub-division of them as Imperialism and Democracy versus Communist revolutionary regime in China as opposed to socialism in the USSR (Janos, 1996, p. 21).

A homeless tramp discovers a pair of glasses that when donned reveals a world of alien invasion hidden beneath the superficial illusion of normality. Zizek claims that the normal perception is "ideology" and that the glasses serve to remove our ideological filters. The book found on a bus (i.e.. outside the conjugal frame) and read in a garage contains no language that is not already familiar from ordinary life, yet somehow this book serves to defamiliarise the language and to reveal a "hidden" content, one that is hidden in plain

According, to my interpretations of the documentary 'War Made Easy’, the news media plays the social role to inform to the people, but moreover is a business that needs high rating to sell and be profitable, which makes necessary to cover what is a subject of interest to the people, many times no weighting or making an objective analysis of the situation, and war is not the exception.

The epitome of this  theoretical dualism adopted by Althusser can be observed in the relationship he develops between deep structures characteristic of modern society and the concept of ideology. Ideology in its most basic definition is the ideas that dominate a social group. Althusser along with other post-Marxists posit the notion of ideology as the imaginary relationship individuals have to their material conditions of existence (Lemert 2010). This is a classic Marxist standpoint as it presents the function of ideologies as an agent masking the exploitation of lower classes of society. This ideology can be employed as a practice similar in nature to religion or ethics, and can be used as a lens into the specific: social norms, values, desires, and performances seen in a social context. These deep structures Althusser mentions can range from the institution of the family to the organization of the economy, and are then the primary determinants of all human action in a social setting (Lemert 2010). These structures thusly are

Indeed, both authors agreed that propaganda is so effective because everybody is prone to it. Cross believe it is fundamental for the society to become knowledgeable about the strategies and practices of the propaganda “let us become informed about the methods and purposes of propaganda, so we can be the masters, not the slaves of our destiny.” (Cross 257). For example, the Vietnam war ended because people just went out and spoke against it. Even though, the government had overwhelmed propaganda for the war. And the people were able to turn the tie against the government desires.

Propaganda is a method of correspondence used to control or impact the feeling of groups to support a specific reason or conviction. Throughout the hundreds of years, purposeful propaganda has taken the type of craftsmanship, movies, discourses, and music, however it's not restricted to these types of correspondence. In spite of the fact that its utilization is not only negative propaganda all the time includes a substantial accentuation on the advantages and excellences of one thought or gathering, while all the while mutilating reality or stifling the counter-contention ( “What is Propaganda”).

According to Zizek ideology is glasses that distorts our view. It’s a layer between us and reality. It blocks us from seeing what things really are. The function of ideology, for many critical theorists, is that it covers up power and domination. When we believe in a particular ideology, it makes it difficult for us to see who holds all the power in society and how this might be harmful to us. Zizek sees ideology as having three parts. First, ideology is a set of ideas. Second, Zizek thinks ideology has a material component, or put another way, ideology needs something concrete, like an organization, to help spread it. And finally, ideology becomes part of our social world.

In this essay i would like to present the role and history of propaganda as identified by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis, and describe first the seven classic techniques of propaganda defined by this Institute.

Boris Polevoi’s novel, Story of a Real Man, chronicles the life of a Soviet pilot as he strives and thrives during The Great Patriotic War. A big aspect of any piece of art, film, and literature during the WWII era and the Stalin years is the idea of Socialist Realism, an element seen prominently throughout Polevoi novel. Socialist Realism is defined by art that depicted the Soviet Union as an ideal and thriving state. The idea of Socialist Realism was to present to the enemy and other countries that the Soviet Union would win the war. Socialist Realism is represented by the language in the novel as well as its characters. Through the character of Alexei Meresyev, a Soviet Pilot who breaks his legs, Polevoi demonstrates the Socialist Realist

Propaganda as analysed by Jacque Ellul from diverse view points. He was an admirer of Karl Max’s sociological theories, and displays the usage of the theories in hi analysis of propaganda. With the notion of society divided into classes with interests, such as politicians against the govern, the capitalist and the low income earners, the technology developer and the consumer, etc propaganda becomes a great combat told by those with upper interests to win the minds of the rest. Technology uses of all means to propagate ideas fast across the globe with an outstanding way of making it win its objective on a wide scale. While the highest beneficiary of an ideology strives to maintain his/her position, the desperate resorts to self-deception by admitting an “ideological veil to cover the harsh reality, some consolation, a purpose, a sense of values.” (Jacques Ellul 2006). The consumer of propaganda is at conflict with his inner realities. He consumes what he is given, for example in news, with no “explanations and comprehensive answers to general problems” (Jacques Ellul 2006). Justification is one of the key tools that propaganda uses to survive and meet its goals.

In the case of most foreign affairs, we only know what the media tells us. Most of the general American public will never witness first-hand the wars we fight abroad or the consequences of those wars. Instead, they must rely on a select few primary reporters, most of whom are employed by mainstream media providers, to inform them of the happenings all around the world. However, since such an intimate group is responsible for the information that we receive, things like personal biases are likely to find its way into the relayed information. Although most reporters attempt to be objective viewers, personal subjective

Ideology is most sufficiently defined as ideas and ideals that critique society and create a strategy to reach a better sociopolitical order (Love 19). In today’s world, the word comes with a negative connotations, and when heard becomes associated with unrealistic and impractical thinking. However, ideological thinking is necessary in societal progress, which the socialist ideology highlights and embodies. Socialism is a justifiable and critical ideology because it supports an environment of equality, encourages revolution, and occasionally strives for utopia.