Hegemony Analysis of Popular Culture
Introduction
Cultural hegemony, when firstly introduced by Antonio Gramsci, was used to explain,
“How the power works” (Lears, 1985). The hegemony is talking about the process
that the dominant ideology is delivered from the ruling group to the subordinate group.
The ruling group, also known as the dominant group, refers to the group with resource,
privilege, and power (Wirth, 1945). Halo as one of the important video game since
published in 2001by Microsoft, turns to be an important role in the host game. With
the value of America deeply rooted in the Halo, it continues construct the cutures and
affect the youth as hegemonic construction just as America Captain did. In this essay,
we will analysis how Halo plays significant role in establishing the hegemonic
position and affect the culture.
The popular culture
The expanding process of ideology is expected to happen at least looks like naturally
and without force, which means people may choose to follow even they are not very
interest in the deep hearts. That is the way how the core value of one culture is formed.
It is reflected in the pop culture.
The modern popular culture, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is “music, TV,
cinema, literature etc. that is popular and enjoyed by ordinary people, rather than
experts or very educated people” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2017). Mass media, like the
Internet, TV, and SNS are changing the lifestyles of modern society, especially but not
only the younger people. The video game, as one of the most famous modes for
leisure time, is also developing a high speed, with both the quantity and qualities are
sharply increased. Here in this essay, we will talk about one of the famous video
games running on Microsoft Xbox, the Halo. To analysis this popular culture, we will
discuss in several aspects, the power relationship, power struggles, the process of
power negotiated and contested, how the value is resistance and incorporation. Some
examples will be given to support the analysis and a conclusion will be stated briefly
at the end.
Overview of the video game and Halo
