How Are Women Represented in the Media?
The main purpose of this essay is to discuss the omnipresent issue of women 's portrayal in the media by studying the effect of the television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is an American television series which aired from 1997 to 2003 following a young girl (Buffy Summers) who is chosen to be a vampire slayer and confront the dark forces in her fictional world. However, what made this particular series interesting was the fact it was augmented with an astute example of counter-hegemony due to the prevalent theme of feminism. The protagonist plays an independent, male-like role whom seemingly promotes feminist behaviour. Firstly, it is important to define the key components of the question, which in this case are the concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony. Secondly, one must identify the issues of ideology and hegemony, before finally explaining how Buffy The Vampire Slayer has addressed these particular concerns. The series challenges orthodox anti-feminist ideologies, such as the media presenting women as sex icons and dependent damsels and men as chivalrous, independent heroes, by altering the way in which the audience not only perceive women, but men likewise.
The term hegemony originated from the writings of Karl Marx, but was conceptualised by the Communist intellectual Antonio Gramsci. Hegemony describes the “socialisation process by which the dominant class persistently projects its ideologies, while subordinate classes see these ideological practices and expectations as 'common sense ' and consent to them” (Lealand and Martin, Pg 52, 2001). Lealand and Martin (2001) argue hegemony is primarily a Marxist ideology in the sense that social class is a key factor in determining the ownership of the media and how audiences fathom media text. The general Marxist belief in view of a capitalist society is that the media are part of a powerful, unelected elite who use their influence to reinforce the status quo and neglect
The term hegemony originated from the writings of Karl Marx, but was conceptualised by the Communist intellectual Antonio Gramsci. Hegemony describes the “socialisation process by which the dominant class persistently projects its ideologies, while subordinate classes see these ideological practices and expectations as 'common sense ' and consent to them” (Lealand and Martin, Pg 52, 2001). Lealand and Martin (2001) argue hegemony is primarily a Marxist ideology in the sense that social class is a key factor in determining the ownership of the media and how audiences fathom media text. The general Marxist belief in view of a capitalist society is that the media are part of a powerful, unelected elite who use their influence to reinforce the status quo and neglect
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