Deck 6: Media and Ideology

Question 1

Major advertisements address audiences as ______.

A) citizens
B) consumers
C) workers
D) neighbors

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is consistent with an ideological analysis of media?

A) Media representations reproduce reality.
B) Media representations reflect reality.
C) Media representations help define reality.
D) Media representations have nothing to do with reality.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

News of the economy is primarily from which of the following perspectives?

A) investors
B) workers
C) citizens
D) consumers

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The central concept that much ideological analysis revolves around is ______.

A) hegemony
B) truth
C) social class
D) race

Question 5

Which of the following is not the common ideology implicit in Hollywood action movies?

A) ideology of polarity (us vs. them)
B) ideology of the rugged individual
C) ideology of the American Dream
D) ideology of radicalism

Question 6

The television "work-family" consists primarily of images of ______.

A) businesses that are run together as a family, and genuinely all get along
B) people who work at home
C) parents who bring their children to work with them
D) characters who develop a supportive community in the workplace

Question 7

Which kind of contemporary print ads present "foreigners" and Americans as equal?

A) international business ads
B) international tourism ads
C) product ads
D) online ads

Question 8

______ is a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world.

A) Democracy
B) Semiotics
C) Ideology
D) Communism

Question 9

An example of the incorporation of oppositional cultural forms is ______.

A) television programs about students
B) news articles that quote prisoners
C) advertisements on the Internet
D) a Janis Joplin song selling Mercedes-Benz cars

Question 10

Action-adventure films implicitly suggest that cultural difference ______.

A) is a value in its own right
B) must be destroyed or incorporated
C) can never be overcome
D) is the highest value a society can achieve

Question 11

The following describes a core concept often used in ideological criticism of media contents: The elite's control of consensus and promotion of dominant ideologies in society. Exercise of power through cultural leadership. This concept is called ______.

A) hegemony
B) socialism
C) normalization
D) cultural imperialism

Question 12

Ideological analysis of media focuses on ______.

A) whether images accurately reflect reality
B) the values and social definitions embedded in media images
C) the political views of the producers of media images
D) the power of media owners

Question 13

Who is the scholar who introduced the idea of hegemony?

A) Karl Marx
B) John Dewy
C) Antonio Gramsci
D) Aristotle

Question 14

According to the text, why was there such a proliferation of Vietnam movies in the 1970s in the United States?

A) The U.S. government subsidized production of Vietnam movies.
B) It was American society's ideological attempt to overcome the Vietnam syndrome.
C) The Vietnamese government pressured the U.S. film industry to produce more Vietnam movies.
D) The United Nations recommended Vietnam movies to reconcile the conflict.

Question 15

Consumer ideology suggests that social problems ______.

A) are personal problems that can be solved by buying the right product
B) are too complicated to solve
C) are the result of an unwillingness by people to spend their money
D) can be solved by substantial government investment in remedies

Question 16

The realm where hegemony operates include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) common sense
B) the "natural"
C) the taken-for-granted
D) expertise

Question 17

According to Tricia Rose, the "hidden politics" of rap are ______.

A) the content of rap's lyrics
B) the political jockeying within the industry
C) the claim by Black youth to the right to use public space
D) political contributions by rap artists

Question 18

We identify conventional forms of image construction as "realist" because ______.

A) producers claim they reflect reality
B) they mask the workings of the camera that creates the images
C) we often confuse these images with reality
D) these kinds of images appear in documentary films

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the definition of ideology?

A) Ideology is official dogmas of communism and fascism.
B) Ideology is an elaborate philosophy of language, symbols, and culture based on the analytic distinction between signifier and signified.
C) Ideology is a subliminal set of messages secretly embedded in otherwise neutral media messages like entertainment films and advertisements.
D) Ideology is the realm of taken-for-granted thoughts and ideas in circulation that reflect the power dynamics at work in a society.

Question 20

The "covert advertising" in women's magazines refers to ______.

A) the classified ad section
B) editorial advice columns
C) perfume ads
D) renewal notices to subscribers

Question 21

We generally associate ideology with ideas that are perceived to be extreme, those in the middle are viewed as ______.

A) cynical rather than as ideological
B) pragmatic rather than as ideological
C) materialistic rather than as ideological
D) cynical rather than as materialistic

Question 22

Which of the following is considered the major ideology present in the original rap music of the 1980s?

A) a revolt against an unjust social system
B) a praise of radical socialism
C) a praise of contemporary capitalism
D) a criticism against homosexuality

Question 23

Hegemony is permanent and unalterable.

Question 24

In an ideological criticism of media, it is assumed that media have nothing to do with the real world.

Question 25

Ideology is related to all of the following concepts EXCEPT ______.

A) worldview
B) belief system
C) fame
D) values

Question 26

We can often be unaware of the ideological position of contemporary media because ______.

A) it reflects our own taken-for-granted views of the world
B) personal problems can be solved by buying the right product
C) they can often present a distorted version of the world
D) they assumed that sharply defined, divergent, and unequal gender roles were appropriate and desirable, usually with men as breadwinners and women as stay-at-home moms

Question 27

In striving for popularity, the television producers have often adopted the strategy of least objectionable programming, whereby programs are intended to avoid ______.

A) controversy and remain politically bland
B) ideological claims
C) culture wars and controversial topics
D) all of these

Question 28

Mass advertising emerged in the 1960s to promote the civil rights movement.

Question 29

Which of the following is not a common ideological criticism of contemporary advertising?

A) Ads celebrate and take for granted the consumer-capitalist organization of society.
B) Ads normalize a middle- or upper-middle-class lifestyle.
C) Ads promote a worldview that stresses the community and the public life.
D) Ads promote a materialist culture.

Question 30

Media portrayals from the Old Western period reflect an ideology about ______.

A) unequal gender roles being inappropriate and undesirable
B) concern about what messages certain images send about the nature of the world
C) beliefs about who is and isn't worthy of inclusion
D) all of these

Question 31

When Marxists speak of ideology, they often mean belief systems that ______.

A) help justify the actions of those in power by distorting and misrepresenting reality
B) often present a distorted version of the world
C) tells us about behavioral norms within ourselves and our society
D) refers not only to the beliefs held about the world but also to the basic ways in which the world is defined

Question 32

What are "culture wars?"

A) Fundamental issues of morality are being fought, while the media is at the center of it all.
B) The conflict between traditionalist and conservative values in the United States.
C) A term that is in reference to only the recent issues between conservative and liberal political differences in the United States.
D) The battle for censorship of the media from American conservatives.

Question 33

Which of the following explanations about the historical development of advertising in the 20th century is true?

A) Ads were often a gateway to integrate society and erase differences among people.
B) Ads were banned from radio for most of the early 20th century.
C) Ads using racial stereotypes were banned.
D) Ads were a chief tool for the masses to challenge the ruling class.

Question 34

Media professionals generally have little patience with the argument that the media are ______.

A) structural forces
B) purveyors of ideology
C) authoritative figures in terms of hegemony
D) culture warriors

Question 35

"False consciousness" refers to the subordinate class's acceptance of the basic ideology of the ruling class.

Question 36

Hegemony operates at the level of common sense in the assumptions we make about social life.

Question 37

Popular media, particularly television and mass advertising, have a tendency to display a remarkably narrow range of behaviors and lifestyles and deeming this narrow range to be "normal" behavior. This results in ______.

A) media representing absolute reality
B) a highlight of the conflict between traditionalist and conservative values in the United States
C) immediate protest
D) the marginalization and neglection of people who are different from the mediated norm.

Question 38

Which of the following is not a common portrayal of family life in contemporary television?

A) introducing a "perfect mother" image
B) upper-middle-class lifestyle
C) secure and happy life
D) "trashy," lower-middle-class worldview

Question 39

Power can be wielded at the level of culture or ideology, not just through the use of ______.

A) political power
B) force
C) economic influence
D) none of these

Question 40

The key for ideological analysis is the fit between the images and words in a specific media text and broader ways of thinking about, even defining, ______.

A) society as a whole
B) ideology as we know it as a culture
C) social and cultural issues
D) none of these

Question 41

Early rap music began as a critique of the underlying ideology of mainstream American society.

Question 42

In women's magazines, editorial content often serves as convert advertising.

Question 43

Can media challenge the mainstream ideologies? Can you think of some examples in which media criticize taken-for-granted ideologies and promote alternative views?

Question 44

Explain the concept of "hegemony." What is it and why is it important in the ideological analysis of media?

Question 45

Economic news generally favors the perspectives of businesses and investors.

Question 46

What does it mean that advertising created a modern consumer culture? Which values does advertising promote? Explain.

Question 47

Think of popular Hollywood action films such as Rambo, Die Hard, Top Gun, and the 007 series. What are the common ideologies or values promoted in such movies?

Question 48

Television in the 1970s often depicted happy, middle-class families.

Question 49

What are "dominant" ideologies? What do you think the dominant ideologies of the United States are?