| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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At a more fundamental level, we are exploring the relationship between power and culture/ideology in capitalist America. Central to any discussion of the dominant culture/ideology is power. Dominant groups and elites use some combination of material resources and coercion to maintain their position of dominance. The status quo is maintained either through commonsense logic (which may not be true) or by getting people to buy into the dominant ideology by providing rewards. Further, power is maintained most effectively through consensual domination. Ideas that attempt to disrupt the status quo are marginalized and become a subculture. At times, the dominant culture can negotiate with the subculture, incorporating it into the dominant culture/ideology, thus perpetuating the hegemonic discourse. Hebdige drawing on Stuart Hall argues:
In the past, a combination of education, the church, and the media has been important for the co-opting and perpetuation of the dominant culture/ideology. In the present phase of capitalist development, that is, a globalized society at the center of which is a technological revolution, the media have become more important than ever in shaping and perpetuating the hegemonic ideology.
Hip hop serves to express more than the frustrated creativity (on the pathway to wealth and riches) of the urban minority