Module 9 - Hegemony

Cultural hegemony refers to the power that a specific person or thing holds in social institutions. By having this strong representation in culture, hegemony tends to rule the culture, by first holding a strong spot in culture and then spreading it throughout the culture. An example of cultural hegemony I would like to use is the strong representation that fast food/ franchises hold in the world. Similar to the video “Cultural Hegemony” it is defined as something that has a dominant society, with something made up of that society such as people and places, with something added that may be considered radical/ dangerous. In my example, fast food franchises would be the radical or dangerous aspect of cultural hegemony being added to the dominant society, weakening it. The changes that fast food can have an effect on would be making people reliant on quick service fast food options, often not being the healthiest of options to consume but rather the more convenient option. Rather than spending time shopping for ingredients and preparing dishes to eat, the convenience of stopping somewhere where you can have food prepared for you in a quick way and delivered to your finger tips makes it easier for the consumer, often times adding to the laziness of the average American. Similar to the effect that having a smartphone (computer) attached to your hand at all times while you’re awake, it makes the consumer reliant on something which would cause mass confusion if it were to be pulled from the consumers.