ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth overview of the long-standing debates on defining what ideology is, and the various conflicting notions since the word's introduction in the late 18th century. It attempts to understand how people adopt, adapt, accept, or resist and challenge dominant discourses through which they experience and view society and the world. The chapter explores several examples of how ideology has been represented in mainstream media, specifically Hollywood cinema, as a way of illustrating one common and popular notion of ideology that is widely disseminated and accepted – that of 'false consciousness'. It presents the necessary historical background and the surrounding debates of this term as it has been applied to people who are viewed by some in the throes of 'false consciousness' when viewing their society. The chapter explains theoretical framework that author will be using in analysing the participants' discourses of capitalism, which draws upon Gramsci's (1971) notions of common sense, good sense, and hegemony.
