Ideology Essay

i•de•ol•o•gy

What is ideology? That is still the question after a few sessions about ideology, after Zizek and the documentaries. At specially the influents on the humans and me, myself. In all the documentaries I saw different kinds of fear. I want to highlights some fears, and how ideology works in that area. So maybe after I can ask myself;

Do I fear ideology?

Ideology is a spontaneity relationship to or social world, so we can enjoy it. To step out of it, you have to force it to do it. We see don’t see the ‘real’ world, we don’t see the critic or proof. We fear them. Like in the first example in Zizek movie ‘THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY’. A homeless person finds a box with glasses. When he puts them on it shows a critic on ideology. It shows you the real message. We don't want to wear does glasses, because we are afraid of the real world.

In the movie ‘JAWS’ also an example in the movie of Zizek. The jaws attacks people on the beach. The shark is the metaphor of big, brutal, capital, ordinary Americans. But we fear more than only Americans, like big companies, immigrants, natural disasters, politicians. The function is to untie all these fears so we can trade this fear for a single one. The shark becomes symbolic for fear, and we all fear sharks. In this way the experience of really becomes much simpler.

An good example why we have to fear big companies explains in the BBC series ‘THE MEN WHO MAKE US SPEND’. Why do we buy? What drives people? A big part of marketing and branding is to get us afraid, and the big companies sell the ‘solution’. A lot of commercials gets in your head, to bring out your fear. The fear of losing something. The brain response to fear of losing something. When you get an emotional response, you will probably buy. It’s a survival instinct of a human, you don’t want to be afraid and they sell the protection. As a consumer it maybe an idea to wear does glasses, to see the truth of all does big companies. (like Zizek example) We buy Ideology, we are a part of the commodity.

Advertising is like a story, you have an enemy that’s the problem, and a hero has to save you, that is the product. An company gives you an idea that you have it, so you have to use the product to provided it or lose it. The advertisement give you something to disturb, but you didn't even know you need it. People are afraid to be less than normal. There is no proof that it will work, but still we buy it becomes we are afraid to have it. Fear is in the very heart why we buy.

For example the drug industry. Cholesterol is something people worry about, because it’s or own health. We all want to be healthy. Because of the threading advertising about cholesterol, people are taking drugs for precaution for any kind of heart problems of high cholesterol. Cholesterol is like the shark. The advertising let you think there is a problem, it makes people afraid. So people buy the drug. The desire to be well and healthy is also a survival instinct.

A totally different kind of example of fear we saw in the documentary ‘ENJOY POVERTY’ from Renzo Martens. This Dutch journalist is showing the suffering side of Congo and the structure of it. The property owners benefit from the resources of poverty, but the poor have to stay poor to keep the poverty structural. The owners are afraid for losing the structure, and the poor are afraid of the owners. So nothing will ever changes this way.

•fear•

I thought that I didn't fear anything. Okay maybe a white shark, but no influences from the world. I just never think about it that way. But when I want a new pair of shoes it has to do with ideology, right? But I’m I afraid when I don’t have them? I don’t want the latest phone or I don’t take pills when I see an add that scares me. When I think about of all those influences, I just think that I have my glasses on. Most of the time I see the ‘real’ world, I don’t trust the news or I don’t believe the big companies. But nobody can’t avoid ideology, it’s everywhere. That’s not a bad thing, because ideology made me how I’m now.

"My eternal fear is that if, for a brief moment, I stopped talking... you know, the whole spectacular appearance would disintegrate; people would think there is nobody and nothing there. This is my fear, as if I am nothing who pretends all the time to be somebody and has to be hyperactive all the time... just to fascinate people enough so that they don't notice that there is nothing." - Slavoj Zizek