IndexThe IncrediblesExplanation of the theory: HegemonyAnalysis of the selected text: The IncrediblesCONCLUSIONThe Incredibles The Incredibles is a Pixar animated film directed by Brad Bird released on November 5, 2004. The film is about a family of superheroes who live a normal life while hiding their superpowers. Bob, also called Mr. Incredible, wants to get back into action as a superhero; however, this only leads to the entire family fighting to save him from a villain. The film's budget was $92 million and the box office grossed $633 million, which indicates that it was a popular film and in high demand in theaters. The average age of the film's audience was seven when it was first released, meaning that children were exposed to influential media at a young age. As its high box office receipts and popularity indicate, this film confirms hegemonic ideology, particularly in terms of its representation of masculinity, the role of women, and the role of African Americans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMr. Incredible, who is a tall, white, muscular man, is the protagonist and focus of the film. Mr. Incredible wants to return to superhero work and save people from danger and bad guys; However, due to protests from citizens who don't want to be rescued and their comments about being in danger from all the superheroes, Mr. Incredible and his family have to go into hiding. Later in the film, he receives a message about a mission indicating that he must destroy a robot. Mr. Incredible decides to train again and works hard to get back into shape; however, when he arrives at the mission site, he discovers that the mission was in a trap. Meanwhile, his family discovers that he is in danger and tries to save him. Each family member has a unique superpower. Mr. Incredible has powers of strength, durability, and enhanced senses. Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible's wife, has elasticity powers. She has different views and opinions than her husband about returning to work as a hero and saving people again. Mr. Incredible believes the world still needs superheroes, but Elastigirl wants their family to stay hidden and listen to society's restrictions. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl have three children: Violet, Dash and little Jack-Jack. Violet is unsure and struggles with her superpowers of invisibility and force field creation. Dash is confident in his superspeed power. The Incredibles also have a family friend, Frozone, who has the power to freeze anything. Even though the characters are perceived as larger-than-life superheroes, the film itself convinces viewers to accept its ideas of masculinity, the role of women, and the role of women. African Americans with these “heroic” characters. The film represents masculinity with the idea that men must be tall, muscular and white. The film also illustrates his belief that wives are only meant to be a stay-at-home mom and serve their husbands. The film portrays the African American sidekick as not as attractive as Mr. Incredible and characterized for being the exact opposite of Mr. Incredible in many ways. Since children watch this film, its influences on the images should concern viewers like me. The film's audience starts at age seven and then increases, meaning young viewers are influenced by what the film wants them to think. There is a deeper understanding to be gained of the problematic meanings or characterizations of gender and race in The Incredibles Through Hegemony. Theory Explanation: HegemonyHegemony is the explanationtheory of how power and dominance are maintained in the influence of the status quo. According to John Storey, “the concept of hegemony is used by Gramsci (2009) to refer to an ongoing condition in which a dominant class does not simply govern a society, but guides it through the exercise of intellectual and moral leadership” (Storey 83). Gramsci developed this theory in the 1920s and 1930s during his time in prison. Gramsci was concerned about the working class fighting against the ruling class. This contrasts with Marxist theory, in which Marx thought that workers would arrive at liberation or be liberated from their oppressive conditions in a different way than Gramsci had thought. Marx was confident that the class would realize that this ideology was only a “by-product of the economic system” (Ott and Mack 142). However, when the working class did not come to this awareness, Gramsci developed the theory of hegemony. Society as a whole cannot distinguish or disunite itself from the ruling or ruling class because hegemony constantly takes different forms. According to Domenico Strinati “hegemony is constantly readjusted and renegotiated. Gramsci said that it can never be taken for granted… the function of hegemonic leadership does not disappear but changes character” (Strinati 157). Hegemony is omnipresent and everywhere, but it operates in such a way that we are not aware of its existence, because it is unconscious. Gramsci establishes that the ruling class maintains its dominance over society in two different ways: coercive control and consensual control. It is through both forms of power that the ruling class maintains its ideology. Coercive control and consensual control lead society to accept the views and ideas of the dominant group. According to Simon Roger, “coercive control manifests itself through direct force or its threat (necessary for a state when its degree of hegemonic leadership is low or fractured). Consensual control: arising when individuals voluntarily assimilate the worldview of the dominant group” (Roger 39). That is, if moral and intellectual leadership does not guarantee authority, or is not powerful enough, it is then that coercive power temporarily replaces the hegemonic process. Specifically, direct forces, such as the police and the army, controlled by the ruling class, take over. In any case, society accepts the ideology of the ruling class. It is important to understand that consensual control is achieved through education, the economy, and even the media. An example of consensual control achieved is looking at the ideal American dream. James Adams says: The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for all, with opportunities for each according to ability or achievement. It's a difficult dream for Europe's upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us have grown weary and wary of it. It is not simply the dream of cars and high wages, but the dream of a social order in which every man and every woman is able to reach the greatest stature of which they are innately capable, and to be recognized by others for what they believe. they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position (Adams 6). This American Dream still exists in 2016. This dream is passed on through schools, family members, and the media; regarding this last category, the ruling class uses entertainment, social media and films. Films are very influential and express an ideology. Examples of films that conveyed the ideology of the American Dream include films such as The Pursuit of Happyness and Forrest Gump. In The Pursuit of Happyness, Christopher Gardnershe lives from shelter to shelter with her son who struggles to pay the bills and does an unpaid internship. After nothing but hope and hard work, Christopher lands a full-time paying job during his internship. In Forrest Gump, Forrest achieves great success with a below-average IQ. He doesn't let the low expectations that society had for him stop him from achieving great success. Forrest receives a scholarship to college, becomes a soldier, receives the Medal of Honor, and runs cross-country for three years. Eventually he reunites with the girl he loves and is introduced to her son. However, the dream is not put into films by itself; the dream is distributed by wealthy film production companies, which are an example of a dominant group. These production companies, staffed by wealthy directors and producers, convince the subordinate class that their ideas, including the American Dream, are ideal. Even if dominant groups try to persuade society as a whole with their hegemonic ideology, no society will be completely willing to do so. hegemonic. There will always be a counterhegemonic culture. According to Lenny Flank, “counterhegemony refers to attempts to criticize or dismantle hegemonic power. In other words, it is a confrontation and/or opposition to the existing status quo and its legitimacy in politics, but it can also be observed in various other areas of life, such as history, media, music” ( Flank 11). There is a possibility that the working class will overcome the dominant ideology if it recognizes that the ideas and values ​​it perceives as common are only “products” developed by economic and social systems. This shift in consciousness may occur because the ruling class can never achieve total hegemonic control. One reason the ruling class can never achieve complete control is because it is a minority. The dominant group is not the majority of society; it's just a small group that wants to take advantage of value systems and try to control society as a whole. According to Lee Fleischer, “Dominant groups must create group associations, such as the bourgeois, and make ideological negotiations and adaptation to convince subordinate cultures that it is in their best interests” (Fleischer, 30-42). It is therefore a continuous process in which both the dominant and subordinate cultures make “negotiations”. This leads to a hegemonic struggle between the two cultures; struggle leads to both resistance and incorporation. Another reason why the ruling class cannot completely dominate the working class is that workers have a binary consciousness. Their beliefs and values ​​are influenced by the dominant ideology, but they are also influenced by their own experience. The working class is in poverty and for this reason it is partly able to overcome hegemony. Antonio Gramsci argues that the working class can achieve hegemony. Gramsci coined the term “organic intellectual,” which according to Storey, “According to Gramsci, intellectuals are distinguished by their social function. That is to say, all men and women have the capacity to make intellectual efforts, but only some men and women function as intellectuals in society. Each class, as Gramsci explains, "organically" creates its own intellectuals." (Plan 84) This counter-hegemony which serves the purpose of dismantling hegemonic power could take the place of the ideological leadership of the ruling class by bringing new ideas and values ​​on how to run a society. There can be a transition from capitalism to socialism. An example of counterhegemony would be the Pixar film, Monsters University. This film challenges the traditional idea of ​​masculinity by bringing out a different representation of masculinity. In the movie, Mikehe is represented as masculine through traits such as leadership, fearlessness, and courage. However, Mike's physical appearance goes against the traditional male image portrayed in many other Disney films. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles all have the same idea of ​​what a masculine man should look like, namely a tall, white, muscular man. Monsters University is attempting to tell young viewers not to let a “common” idea or representation define masculinity and to instead think about what is within that can also represent masculinity. However, there are still influential and popular films that have the hegemonic power to persuade viewers that masculinity is defined by a man's physique. Selected Text Analysis:The Incredibles With this knowledge of hegemony theory, we can use the theoretical perspective as a critical tool to explain how The Incredibles reinforce their ideology that a white, muscular man is dominant. The movie makes the white, muscular man seem more powerful than his wife and her African American friend because the movie focuses on the main character called Mr. Incredible. The African American man's name, Frozone, and the woman's name, Elastigirl, do not seem "incredible" because of his skin color and her gender. Frozone seems unrealistic and fictional, this is a result of the way the African American race is denigrated in society. The wife does not have the honor of being Mrs. Incredible. The word Elastigirl emphasizes her gender, but also makes her seem youthful. The word “amazing” sounds powerful and influences viewers to see masculinity portrayed in a certain way. Amazing has a positive connotation compared to the word girl and a made up word like Frozone. The film portrays the African American man as less attractive than the white, muscular man in every way possible. Frozone's body is leaner and not as muscular as Mr. Incredible's. Frozone takes Mr. Incredible around to help him find people to save. Later in the film, Frozone helps Mr. Incredible fight the villain by protecting his son from the villain's robot. After saving his son, he does not fight the robot and instead stands with Elastigirl and watches Mr. Incredible defeat the robot. Viewers see that Frozone is just a sidekick. The film denigrates the African American race by portraying the white, tall, muscular man to appear more attractive than the African American man. The film focuses on the tall, muscular white man and portrays him to look even more incredible. The film normalizes viewers that a wife should be a stay-at-home mom. In one specific scene in the film, Helen uses her elasticity to vacuum the living room while her husband sits in a chair reading a newspaper. Throughout the film, he also picks up trash with his stretchy arms and uses these powers to take care of children. This refers to historical-social expectations of women as stay-at-home moms. The fact that this film was released in 2004 is troubling to viewers like me, who are concerned about the continued perceptions and expectations of women. However, viewers fail to notice the diminished capabilities of women like Helen in the film, diminishing their independence and agency. Viewers feel that Helen is modern or progressive, but still has a conventional normative gender. The film gives a woman superpowers, which might lead viewers to assume that the film reveals a great and strong representation of women. However this is not the case. The film wants viewers to accept their idea of ​​the woman as a housewife, so to do so, the film negotiates and provides Helen with superpowers; however, he uses these superpowers to.