Jerry's Use Of Counter Hegemony In Poorlando

To understand counter-hegemony one must first all have a clue what hegemony is. Well, according to Gramsci (1971), hegemony is that cultural leadership that is usually exercised by the ruling class. In this essence, the dominants order is sustained by the intellectuals. This is done by popularizing and creating a world view to convince the oppressed that their live in subordination arena is inevitable, just and appropriate. So with that idea, counter-hegemony can be explained as that attempt to dismantle or critique of hegemonic power. It is an act of opposing or confronting the existing status quo. This can be done in media, written books, journal articles and also music (Gramsci, 1971).
This essay will put more emphasis on one of the TV
show that portrays hegemony and how that hegemony has been tried to be dismantled or criticized. The TV show under investigation in this case is Strangers with Candy. There is use of analytical skills and also literature review that pushed representation in a television discourse. In a specific way, this analysis pays close attention to how characters are constructed, mediated and represented in the cinematic and visual text through discourses (Dines & Humez, 2015). Being a cultural piece in this context, there are dominant characters which have been used to ridicule oppression in relation to social power. This paper put more emphases on one episode of this TV show to portray dominant power systems and hegemonic stereotypes of class as it keeps on being repeated on identities. It displays how social relations are constructed, how they are enforced and how they are mediated in this show. In this show, the episode that really focuses on our theme that is class is a price too high for riches (Dines & Humez, 2015).
A price too high for riches
In this episode, the central discourse is class and the characters are operating in relation to this discourse. This episode commences with Jerry arriving at school and within that time a rich girl also arrives. This rich girl Melissa pulls over and parks a very expensive convertible car and she is excitedly greeted by her classmates while applauding her for her expensive car. While other classmates were jealously pointing out the expensive shoes that Melissa worn, Jerry was in much contemplation on her socio-economic status and of course feeling discouraged (Danello, Sedaris & Leiner, 1999).
This awakens Jerry from the dream and realizes that she in not privileged when it comes to finances as her other classmates and that her social position and class identity is measured or determined in relation to others. She discovers that possession of Flairs that is the pair of shoes that Melissa worn and wealth is the only key to elite class and social acceptance. From there she starts calculating on how she can acquire those shoes. Jerry asks Melissa to invite her to her party but Melissa declines because Jerry cannot afford even Flairs. She tells Jerry that she can only go to that party if at all she can be able to afford that kind of shoes (Danello, Sedaris & Leiner, 1999).
On that same day, Jerry meets with Orlando who happens to sail in the same class as her.
He invites her for party and she declines to an extent of calling him “Poorlando”. She prefers to rather attend Melissa’s party because of her class status than attend that of Orlando. This juxtaposition of poor/rich is rather a social commentary of status quo or class systems. It does not only portray how class systems create subordinate and dominant social relation but it also put more emphasis on the extent to how western constructions shape and portray oppressive social experiences. Jerry put more value on Melissa who don’t want even to see her over her only true friend Orlando just because Melissa is financially privileged and has a class. Jerry’s social class and position is constantly being compared to that of Melissa and other classmates who owns Flairs. In all her social interaction, Jerry is being overtly oppressed through dialogues. She is actually more scrutinized for not being able to own at least one pair of Flair (Danello, Sedaris & Leiner,
1999).
Throughout this episode, Jerry struggles to come up with the means of making enough money to but Flairs. She goes to the extent of threatening a girl she found in the washroom, selling term papers to fellow students and also threatening the principle with law suit in order to make money. When the principle catches with those misconducts, he advises her to get job just like other students (Danello, Sedaris & Leiner, 1999).
This episode demonstrates how class identities serve to exaggerate the outcomes of class division to the viewers.
By Jerry taking the character of subordinate class position, she provides and wide opens the doors of critique by the viewers thus helping them realize that the class systems they are tied to are oppressive. However, chitchat critiques only reproduce and reinforce these stereotypes and oppressive classed discourses if viewers are not in a position to understand parody. This episode however, lays a ground and encourages viewers to internalize and interpret the discourses portrayed as ridiculous, wrong and oppressive. By this, viewers are encouraged to oppose these hegemonic systems of oppressive social relations and power by coming up with counter-hegemonic systems by sharing their views against hegemony. This can be done through media shows, books articles, journals or music amongst others (Stevenson,
1995).