NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony
Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent acquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?
The family of Ian Tomlinson, who died after being pushed to the ground by PC Simon Harwood during the G20 protests in 2009, has received an unreserved apology and out-of-court settlement from the Metropolitan Police. Mr Harwood was found not guilty of manslaughter last year.
Here are details of Mr Tomlinson's death and the subsequent events that led up to his inquest and the court case.
People have started to video tape the encounters that they have with police officers, and while this is not particularly a bad thing, it is being used in a bad way. The videos that we see on the media are strictly the videos that people are treated negatively by police officers. Most People believe that the police is 'good' and unlaw-breakers who enforce the law and it is seen as 'common sense'. People would deem the death to have been a 'natural' event, as the police stated that 'they believed him to be part of the protest', which in turn makes the viewer believe them without challenging the opposition. The Hegemonic view of this (without the cell phone footage) would be that it was absurd to blame the police for committing such a crime. During that time, there hasn't been any major police brutalities being seen in England ever, and therefore to here of it during then would have been absurd.
In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?
I believe there is some form of hegemony seen across news papers, but it isn't as used, or seen often than it previously was. This was because before the digital age where consumers could have the voice and ability to challenge stories, they were passive readers. The news was something far more than information, it was a way of life. It was the only way to know what was actually happening on the other side of the world, and since there was no media platform to challenge this, readers grew passive and believed (consumed) every peace of news given to them. This had lead to news organisations obviously noticing such patterns in their consumers and would therefore use this to their advantage. Since their content has essentially paved a way for news organisations and the media to spread their views and ideologies for the people lower down to consume and believe it. Consumers had fallen blind in to believing that any news stories presented to them is for their best interest and nothing else. However, since the birth of the digital age and that the internet has allowed more accessibility for audience members across the world to challenge these views, hegemony through-out the media has come to a stand still, if not, then to a decline. This is largely because the ability to control the audiences minds and give them what they need rather than what they want has been broken due to the internet breaking down this wall.
Do recent world events such as Brexit or Donald Trump's election in the US suggest dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged or reinforced? There are arguments for both sides here - explain your opinion and why.
I also believe that the media will find any possible event or news story to attempt to use hegemonic ideologies in their piece. This is because it is something that the whole world 'cares' about and that they will consume every piece of news to benefit their interest. Since demand for news stories such as the ones above were so big across the world, this gave the media the ability to try regain their power and influence amongst its audience. News stories by The Sun did this to a large extent where they shared their views on the US election showing who they believe to be better and focusing their entire article slamming the other candidate. Why?. Because they know how passive their audience members will be, and internet is of no power when it comes to stories such as this. Broadcast and newspapers are the ones that gain the most power during events like these.
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