” Good should overcome evil “
” Law is better than disorder “
” Pleasure is a goal in life “
Statements such as the ones above are generally followed and believed in by most people, making them the core of our social system, at least in terms of Western beliefs. They are obvious, unspoken values, almost a ‘given’, and so are difficult to disagree with. Ideas such as these, that shape our behaviour and form our identities are called ideologies. Although the ones above are quite broad, anything can be an ideology as long as it explains a certain way to live life; something so fundamental, that we usually grow accustomed to it and do not even realise that we abide by it. For this reason, ideologies are often about the more important aspects of life such as religion, politics and society, all of which shape our daily routines through their making of a greater system. They are also often an essential part of our identities, because of their influence over our beliefs and perspectives of the world around us.
” An ideology is a form of social or political philosophy in which practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones. This refers to a collection of beliefs and ideas that shape a person’s behaviour and perception of the world “
Examples
– – – – – – Religious Ideology
A good example of an ideology is religious fundamentalism which is the belief in the superiority of religious teachings and often a strict faithfulness to them. It exists in many different religions and cultures, for example, in Iran, where it is the dominant ideology. Usually, particularly religious texts, such as the Bible, inform the specific sets of beliefs that strongly influence how those with the ideology conduct themselves and perceive everything around them. In this case, followers adhere to the ideas and rules set out in their religious text with little variation or interpretation. Due to this sense of importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroup distinctions, there is a desire to return to a previous ideal that members are believed to have strayed from, with an emphasis on purity and loyalty.
– – – – – – Political Ideology
There are many political ideologies around the world, all of which offer different cultural blueprints for a certain social order. One example is a democracy, which is a system where political leaders and representatives are elected by the general population. This is a dominant ideology in many countries, however, has different variants depending on the history and current beliefs of the specific place. For example, in the United States, the dominant political ideology is based on the U.S. Constitution, which includes, among other things, the right of citizens to bear arms. Many people now view this as a norm and find it is an important aspect of their lives; hence why there are a lot of guns in their country. The British have a very similar democratic system, but after a small number of mass shootings, England heavily restricted gun ownership, which the public is fine with due to the belief that this makes them safer.
– – – – – – Sociological Ideology
Within the field of sociology, ideology is understood as the sum total of a person’s values, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations. It exists within groups and between people and plays a powerful role in shaping the economic system of production as well as societal structure. One example is heterosexism, which is officially defined as “discrimination or prejudice against gay people on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation”. This includes certain attitudes and general bias in favour of female-male sexuality and relationships and can be held by people of any sexual orientation, which can form a part of internalised hatred of one’s own sexual inclination. Ideologies such as these can be extremely harmful, but still largely exists today, with this example of discrimination being manifested as the ranking of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and other sexual minorities as second-class citizens. This is in regard to economic opportunities, various legal and civil rights and social equality in many of the world’s jurisdictions and societies, and is often related to homophobia.
These examples demonstrate how dominant ideologies can be based on a kind of generic model but can change along with the beliefs of the dominant group, making them a unique reflection of the cultures in which they exist.
– Other Examples -
How will this be applied to my CMP?
I am going to apply my knowledge of ideologies by talking about the major beliefs that the client (Passion Pictures) and any characters I create for my project, hold. I will also include research on ideologies relevant to the film that I have chosen as my primary inspiration, in my case study blog post.