Rebellion

Ford does an excellent job breaking down the concepts outlined by Althusser as relatable to the film industry. Like they both mentioned, generally the majority of published material aligns with the dominant ideology, whether explicitly, implicitly, or through the criticism that inevitably stem from the film itself. And those that attempt to rebel against the dominant ideology struggle to succeed because “no filmmaker, can, by his own individual efforts, change the economic relations governing the manufacture and distribution of his films” (Ford, 814). It makes me think of music as well. Rebellious, anti-pop musicians/groups break into popularity every now and then, preaching their I-won’t-play-with-the-system ideology. However, their ability to speak and the audience they garner is a direct product of the system they claim to be revolting against. What is an artist without promotion? And who ideally funds this promotion? Who coordinates and schedules the kind of productions needed to really be successful and get your message out? The system. And if they truly attempt to separate themselves from the system, they falter because they don’t have the necessary resources.

The film industry is the same. There are still those cult movie groups, indie film groups, and the like that reject anything too “Hollywood” or mainstream. However, it’s the theaters, production companies, promotion companies, actors who want to be in the system, etc… that all build these films. How else will consumers see your film if not in a theater or through a mass distribution system like blockbuster or the like?

Most of my generation would say YouTube! However, as YouTube gains popularity, it becomes part of the dominant ideology itself. Sure, at one time it may have been “outside” the system, but as it became more and more successful, it has had to merge with the system along the way in order to continue on. If a poster really wants to reject the mainstream and say F*** the system, then they can't post on YouTube...that IS part of the system. We talk about the greatness of YouTube, myspace, facebook, twitter, etc... in higher education, which is essentially a distribution point for the dominant ideology to spread to the next generation. Just the fact that we talk about them makes them part of the dominant ideology.

So film is no different...it must adhere to certain formulaic parameters in order to succeed. So there is no true existence "outside" the system.