Popular Fiction as purveyor of False Consciousness

The way our State functions is that it enforces certain ideologies on its people. Since the formation of the

State is a result of collective transfer of consent, consciousness and rationality of the people, any repressive from of enforcement, using any force or violence would lead to the threatening of its existence for compromising on their rights, liberties and freedom. This not only harms the State directly but also brings the true intentions of the State in light. The State hence, rather than acting to directly change the behaviors and actions it wants changed, attacks the ideologies behind them. The general masses act upon their ideologies subconsciously, not pondering about them once they have found roots or are solidified. This fact ensures the State that replacing that ideology with theirs would definitely do the trick. Now the important thing is that the State as a Ruling body is majorly constituted and influenced by the Upper Class which by default becomes the Ruling Class. The State hence thrives, survives and drives on the facilitation and ideologies of the Upper Class (or in this case, the Ruling Class). The State wants active promotion of Ruling Class’s ways for it ensures State’s power. This is because socio-economic profits are but incentives for the Ruling Class which in turn backs the State. It should be noted that practicing of Ruling Class ideologies (socio) and the demand for their resources (economic) by the masses increase the power and hold of the Ruling Class many fold hence becoming an incentive to help the State. The State achieves this enforcing of ideologies through educational (schools), cultural (Church) and Popular Media. Although the State actively acts only in the first two, it is the third which is left for the Ruling Class to play with so as to achieve the desired results. The Popular Media has got a direct connection with the masses which allow the formation of a consensus among the masses via a discoursive route or via archetypal ideological establishments. The Ruling Class hence affects the popular media by coupling their ideology (in this case, Capitalism/Consumerism) with certain ideologies well rooted among masses (in this case, Patriarchy, Caste and Class structure), and packaging it according to the contemporary demands of the masses. The packaging and the social ideologies (Patriarchy etc.) acts as a façade which allows the Ruling Class ideologies to seep in. The Popular Media as a result now carries packets of enforced ideologies meant for mass consumption without the detection of the tweaked elements. Prolong exposure to this popular media results in a certain reservation and bias in favor of the Ruling Class ideologies; unknowingly. The change which follows is a subconscious one, and results in the formation of a consciousness which, to the general public appears to be their own, but in reality is of the Ruling Class, thus, bringing in the concept of False Consciousness. The term ‘False’ here explains the nature of the consciousness, which guides the masses, promotes certain choices, lifestyles, instills an amount of conditioning and further promotes some ideologies; appears to be integral to the masses because of it appearing to be an individual construct and having origins in their own consciousness, but in reality is nothing more than a product of the Ruling Class which ensured its purveyance so as to make it look like it originated from the masses. The demands, voices and vested interests are all Ruling Class’s and the societal ideology is only used to promote and actively practice Ruling Class ideologies. The societal ideology is either promoted, used as a mere catalyst or sometimes even ridiculed either to enjoy the favoritism of the masses for Ruling Class ideologies or to boost any existing consumption. The point to be noted is that, the societal ideologies never gain a level of high importance for the Ruling Class as they are used as a mere medium to allow interaction of the masses with the Ruling Class ideologies. The societal progress if, in any case it happens would be nothing but disguised economic progress of the Ruling Class. The State benefits from the Ruling Class by making them ensure its prolonged control and power, and the Ruling Class uses both the State as well as the societal ideologies as a mere means to continue Ruling.

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