Ideology In Film

Ideology can generally be described as the beliefs and characteristics of a social group. Films can be a historical collection of how American ideology has changed over the course of time, and also how film-makers either express their support or disgust of the American ideology through their films either implicitly or explicitly. As Rodowick stated “anything can be produced in either critical theory or aesthetic practise” (Rodowick, 1995). This post will look at the theory of ideology within cinema and list an example of explicit and implicit ways that directors either support or are against the American ideological system.

The main way to discuss ideology in terms of cinema is through Textual Ideology and Contextual Ideology. Textual Ideology is a way to explicitly express the ideologies of not only the film-maker but of society at the time. Contextual Ideology allows ideologies to be implicitly expressed, as it may oppose the ideologies held by the American culture at the time.
Narrative helps structure or impose the ideologies of the film-maker and explicitly address the audience regarding issues within their culture or society. As Grant states “
Whatever their politics, genre movies are intimately imbricated within larger cultural discourses as well as political ones” (Grant, 2007). For example Born on the Fourth of July explicitly opposes the Vietnam War. Although the film is set after the war, the ideologies that the war was a negative effect on the American culture is brought to attention, also explicitly stating the horror of war. BIBLIOGRAPHY
GOSS, B., 2002. Things Like This Don't Just Happen: Ideology and Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 26(2), pp. 171-192
　
GRANT, B., 2007. Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology. London: Wallflower Press

RODOWICK, N., 1988. The Crisis of Political Modernism: Criticism and Ideology in Contemporary Film Theory. USA: University of California

WOLLEN, P., 1972. Signs and Meanings in the Cinema. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press

REFERENCES

The film follows the story of Ron Kovic, portrayed by Tom Cruise, and how he joins the Vietnam War through honest intentions of patriotism and honour, only to discover the horror of war, as well as how his personality changes from proud hero to bitter veteran due to the negative reception of the public’s view of the Vietnam War. By basing this on a true story, the film-maker creates empathy for the character, during scenes of his attempt at recovery as well as his downfall in society. The final scene of Ron demonstrating against the Vietnam war addresses the audience and aims to convince them about the horrors of war.

However Ideology of the Spectator is a way to utilise Contextual Ideology and imply meaning behind the actions and dialogue produced by characters within a film. An example of this is The Godfather, which tells of the Corleone crime family. The narrative shows the story of how Michael Corleone (portrayed by Al Pacino) succeeds as Don of the family from his father (portrayed by Marlon Brando). However if this is viewed from a contextual viewpoint it shows how crime can corrupt even the most purest of men.

When Michael is introduced to the audience, he is a war hero who distances himself from his family, stating "that’s my family...it’s not me", however at the end of the film Michael has become so corrupt that he embraces his family’s business and distances himself from his wife Kate instead, stating "Don’t ask me about my business Kate", both metaphorically and physically closing the door to his wife and embracing his new role as Don as shown in the film’s ending.



GRANT, B., 2007. Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology. London: Wallflower Press

RODOWICK, N., 1988. The Crisis of Political Modernism: Criticism and Ideology in Contemporary Film Theory. USA: University of California