Ideological State Apparatuses Research Articles

Veiled Exploitation: The Maintenance of Power through False Consciousness in The Netflix Series Arcane

The focus of this research is to identify and reveal how false consciousness is created and utilized to retain the authority of the industrialist Silco in the Netflix series Arcane. This research aims to show how false consciousness is through the creation of class consciousness, and how it is spread and maintained through state apparatuses and commodity fetishism as a method of exploitation to maintain his authority and status as a leader in Zaun. In this research, the Marxist theory of ideology and state apparatuses by Louis Althusser and commodity fetishism by Karl Marx were employed to answer the research questions. The research used a qualitative method of content analysis. The data is collected and identified by watching the series, where the relevant data is collected from visuals, activities, and dialogues within the series so that it can be analyzed further. Based on the data analysis, the series Arcane depicts false consciousness as a method to exploit the people from the proletariat and bourgeois classes to benefit certain people or groups. Silco creates and maintains false consciousness by utilizing state apparatuses such as ideological state apparatus and repressive state apparatus through ideology. Silco also utilizes commodity fetishism from Shimmer as a way to control the people through false consciousness. As a result, Silco managed to maintain his power as a leader in Zaun, which reveals how false consciousness can be utilized to benefit a certain people, group, or classes to maintain their power within society.

The spirit of sports as ideology: a theoretical framework

ABSTRACT The discourse surrounding the spirit of sports, especially under the purview of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), often centers on the philosophical implications of doping and fair play. This research aims to reframe the discussion by employing the lens of historical materialism and Marxist theory, considering sports not merely as isolated physical endeavors but deeply interwoven with societal and ideological transformations. This approach traces the evolution of sports from ancient times, where it served religious and communal functions, to its current status as a component of global capitalist culture. By analyzing the spirit of sports through the theoretical frameworks of Althusser and Žižek, this study explores how sports act as ideological state apparatuses (AIEs), shaping and being shaped by the prevailing economic and social structures. The core argument posits that the spirit of sports is both a reflection of and a contributor to the ideological superstructures that define different historical epochs. The analysis highlights the transition from viewing sports as communal and ritualistic engagements to mechanisms of capitalist ideology, emphasizing competition and profit. Through this historical and ideological critique, the research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the spirit of sports, challenging traditional perspectives that isolate sports from their socio-economic and ideological contexts. The findings suggest that any discussion about the spirit of sports, particularly in anti-doping debates, must consider the broader ideological forces at play, thereby opening pathways for a more nuanced understanding of sports ethics.

Zhuangzi and ideological state apparatuses

Louis Althusser is perhaps most well-known for his concept of ‘Ideological State Apparatuses’ (ISAs). However, Althusser is not clear about what role, if any, ISAs play in a post-capitalist society. At times, Althusser talks about ISAs (and the state) withering; at other times, they are merely reformed. Sometimes, ISAs are described as having an inescapable repressive dimension; on other occasions, they are a perfectly acceptable tool for the reproduction of socialism. In this paper, I offer a way of thinking through this confusion that draws on the thought of the Daoist philosopher, Zhuangzi. I argue that Zhuangzian friendship represents a kind of radical equality that is reproducible without the traditional kind of ideological interpellation of ISAs, thereby allowing Althusser explain post-capitalist ideological reproduction. It is worth noting that in this paper, I am not engaging in a textual exegesis of the Zhuangzi. My primary interest is in using the contemporary literature on the Zhuangzi to think through a problem in Althusser’s philosophical system.

Neighborly Surveillance: The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and the Development of a Post-Jim Crow Ideological Apparatus

The relations of production in Deep South regions like the Mississippi Delta require a high degree of control over race and class configurations. While the overt, de jure White supremacy that marked the post-Reconstruction era allowed for effective repression of dissent, the promise of federal intervention and grassroots organizing during the years of the civil rights movement required White elites to recalibrate methods of control. By integrating theories of racialization of space, internal colonialism, and Althusser’s (2006) notion of the ideological state apparatus, I suggest that this transition from overt to implicit control was accomplished by creating a culture of neighborly surveillance in which everyday Whites were deputized to surveil and report on civil rights organizing at the grassroots level. By neighborly surveillance, I refer to surveillance between and amongst private citizens enacted outside the purview of the formal state but in the interest of the powerful elite who control the state. I document this process through analysis of the archives of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, an official state agency tasked with spying on and counteracting civil rights activity. These records demonstrate the extent to which non-state actors assumed the roles originally exercised by the de jure Jim Crow regime. Beyond augmenting understandings of the civil rights movement-era US South, this article contributes analytical insights to social and ideological transitions in other post-colonial, post-authoritarian spatial contexts.

Digital platforms as Ideological State Apparatus: precarious work and legal subjectivity in neoliberal society

Resumo O avanço da precarização do trabalho e o desenvolvimento da tecnologia da informação no arranjo social específico que caracteriza o capitalismo contemporâneo suscita a discussão sobre o papel das plataformas digitais no processo de reprodução das relações de exploração específicas desse momento histórico. Partindo das concepções de Evgeni Pachukanis e de Louis Althusser e buscando uma aproximação para com as reflexões de matriz foucaultiana de Pierre Dardot e Christian Laval, o presente artigo propõe o entendimento das plataformas digitais como aparelho ideológico de Estado que realiza uma ideologia regional centrada na subjetividade empresarial (ideologia do empresariamento de si). Conclui-se, assim, que o aparelho ideológico das plataformas digitais atua na reprodução das relações de exploração características da sociedade neoliberal pela constituição de uma forma de subjetividade que promove ativamente o próprio assujeitamento como vivência imaginária de uma relação do empresário com seu próprio “capital humano”.

Represi dan Resistensi Negara dalam Novel Laut Bercerita Karya Leila S.Chudori

The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed explanation of: (1) the novel "Laut Bercerita" by Leila S. Chudori explores the presence of repressive state apparatus (RSA), (2) the novel "Laut Bercerita" by Leila S. Chudori explores the concept of the ideological state apparatus (ISA), (3) The novel "Laut Bercerita" by Leila S. Chudori explores forms of direct and indirect resistance. This research uses a qualitative approach and uses a descriptive method. The novel "Laut Bercerita" by Leila S. Chudori, the 52nd edition published by KPG (Gramedia Popular Library) is a source of data and an object of research. The data in this study are in the form of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences taken from the narrator's exposition and the dialogues of the characters in the novel Laut Bercerita by Leila S. Chudori. Based on the results of the study, the following were found. First, there is a form of repressive state apparatus (RSA) in the novel Laut Bercerita by Leila S. Chudori which includes: (1) persecution 11 data, (2) intimidation 14 data, (3) oppression 4 data. The two forms of ideological state apparatus (ISA) in the novel Laut Bercerita by Leila S. Chudori include: (1) family 10 data, (2) education 3 data. The third resistance in the novel Laut Bercerita by Leila S. Chudori (1) directly 3 data, (2) indirect 1 data.

Revolutionary Echoes: Marxist Insights into The Social Class and Economic Conditions in Rabindranath Tagore’s Subha

Rabindranath Tagore, a renowned literary figure and a futuristic, has written the short story Subha, a work that transcends its romantic narrative to offer a broader critique of power structures and societal ideologies. If someone is a woman, her situation is going to be worse; if she is physically challenged, her situation is going to take a nightmare - this is how the late nineteenth-century society used to treat women, painted by Tagore. The protagonist Subha is a woman who is physically challenged and her relationship with Amal, who belongs to the upper class, changes their relationship quo and causes one of the reasons for the plot’s trajectory. Applying Althusserian lenses to this exploration, the research scrutinizes the manifestations of the Ideological State Apparatuses within the narrative. The central research questions guide the inquiry, emphasizing an in-depth analysis of the operationalization of the Ideological State Apparatus in delineating social class distinctions. This paper maintained in a qualitative methodology involves a meticulous examination of the text and discerns the nuanced portrayal of social class within Subha. Drawing on Althusser’s Marxism theory, the study, moreover, investigates how the Ideological State Apparatus influences characters’ relationships, exploring the intersections of personal desires and societal expectations. However, the research findings aim to contribute to the understanding of how ideology shapes literary narratives, shedding light on the intricate dynamics between characters, social class, and plot trajectories. In a broader context, this study underscores the enduring relevance of Marxist theory in literary analysis, offering insights into the mechanisms through which ideological forces operate in shaping the sociocultural landscape depicted in Tagore’s Subha.

UNVEILING IDEOLOGICAL CONFLICT IN INTERCULTURAL MATRIMONY: EXPLORING CLASHING CONVICTIONS IN MARIO PUZO’S “THE GODFATHER”

This study explores the ideological conflict within intercultural marriages as portrayed in Mario Puzo’s renowned novel, “The Godfather”. Utilizing a qualitative approach and Althusser’s theory of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), the researchers delve into Puzo’s intricately woven narrative, highlighting the inherent tension arising from the collision of different values, traditions, and beliefs. The main focus is on the discord experienced by characters from diverse cultural backgrounds. In line with the ideological framework, this study found that a dominant ideology often subjugates other beliefs. Through comprehensive analysis, the researchers discovered that these conflicting beliefs significantly shape the characters’ societal perspectives. This research provides valuable insights into intercultural marriages, emphasizing the universal challenges presented in the novel that stem from negotiating differing beliefs within family and society.

Mainstreaming anti-Semitism on Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT: ExaminingPayitaht: Abdülhamid

While conspiracy theories have traditionally received attention from the Turkish public and political elite, recently, however, they have proliferated when explaining complex situations. This paper examines conspiracy theories in Turkey and the role of entertainment media, specifically the popular period drama, Payitaht: Abdülhamid, in mainstreaming conspiracy theories. Payitaht: Abdülhamid, as an ideological state apparatus, repurposes anti-Semitism as salient conspiracy theories by creating scapegoats and existential others. This paper argues that the state uses entertainment media to disseminate conspiracy theories and, in effect, endorses anti-Semitism. As a result, anti-Semitism has transformed from a marginal movement to a mainstream movement.

Construction and Consolidation of Caste System Through Ideological State Apparatuses: A Study of Girish Karnad’s Talé-Dan˙d˙a

This article critically examines Girish Karnad’s play Talé-Dan˙d˙a as a lens through which the construction and consolidation of the caste system in India is explored. The study focuses on the utilization of ideological state apparatuses (ISA) by the ‘upper-caste’ to suppress attempts at social reform and the creation of a casteless society. By analysing the characters and their interactions within the play, the article argues that repressive and non-violent state apparatuses, such as religion, family, identity formation and language are employed to perpetuate caste-based discrimination and maintain the existing social hierarchy. Drawing on Louis Althusser’s concept of ideological and repressive state apparatuses, the article provides a comprehensive analysis of how these apparatuses are instrumental in preserving caste-based inequalities and solidification of the caste system.

The South Korean Military Ideological Complex: Transcendent Nationalism in Military Moral Education

Abstract Since its inception, the South Korean military, like an Althusserian ideological state apparatus, has served to articulate and disseminate state ideology through what is called the military moral education or ideological training program (chŏngsin or chŏnghun kyoyuk), which instructed soldiers in Korean history, society, and politics. A close reading of moral education textbooks from the Syngman Rhee (1948–60) and Park Chung Hee (1961–79) eras thus shows the content and themes of state ideology, which went beyond simple anti-communism and can instead be summed up as “transcendent nationalism”: a potent, fascistic mixture of ethnic nationalism, anti-communism, and anti-liberal collectivism that emphasized individual loyalty and sacrifice to the supreme representative of the Korean nation, the South Korean state. As part of a larger state ideological complex and as an ideological apparatus in its own right, the military moral education program should be examined to offer a better understanding of South Korean ideology and political discourse and the rise of anti-communist nationalist ideological hegemony during the Cold War. This large-scale effort to indoctrinate South Korean men, in which military moral education played a crucial part, arguably contributed to a significant degree of societal consent behind the Park Chung Hee regime.

Ideological Crisis, Compliance, and Self-Censorship: Identifying the Symptoms of Sinhala-Speaking Theatre Through Its Responses to the Civil War

Abstract: Although many Sinhala-speaking plays created in Sri Lanka after the 1960s focused on contemporary political and social issues, there were surprisingly few theatre productions that addressed the civil war, a significant political crisis in Sri Lanka. Additionally, those few plays that addressed the Civil War failed to provide an opposing thought to the racist ideology that led to the Civil War. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to discuss the issues that caused Sinhala-speaking theatre to pay less attention to the civil war. French philosopher Louis Althusser claimed that “The Ideological State Apparatuses function massively and predominantly by ideology, but they also function secondarily by repression” (Althusser 1971: 145). Along with the argument by Althusser, I will also explore how ideology and repression weaken the significance of the war for the Sinhala-speaking theatre during wartime .

Nostalgia in Life Writing: Tracing the Uses of Nostalgia in Select Holocaust Trauma Memoirs

The article seeks to develop a theoretical analysis and interpretation of the role of nostalgia in German Holocaust memoirs. The intervention of advertising by appropriating nostalgia into marketing has led to an effacement of ‘algia’ or the pain that nostalgia implicates. The modern perception of nostalgia as a positive emotion has affected the idea of yoking nostalgia to traumatic experiences. The current paper analyses whether nostalgia plays a conspicuous role in the trauma narratives of Holocaust survivors. The paper is divided into three sections: first, an overview of the term ‘nostalgia’ through the ages is attempted to comprehend the problem of attaching nostalgia to trauma narratives. Second, textual analysis of The Boy on the Wooden Box (2013) by Leon Leyson and I will Plant you a Lilac Tree (2005) by Laura Hillman is undertaken to establish the presence of nostalgia in the narratives. Third, the major uses of nostalgia in the select texts are condensed into five categories: nostalgia functions as a tool of Ideological State Apparatus (ISA), relieves survival anxiety, improves resolute decisions, aids in preserving nostalgic objects and operates as an intermediary between individual and collective memories in the primary texts. Svetlana Boym’s binary classification of nostalgia is applied to the texts to provide an insight into the nature of nostalgia invoked. The study concludes that restorative nostalgia disrupts progress but augments the nostalgic individual’s determination to survive and recreate the perfect past. Reflective nostalgia provides the awareness that the past is irrevocable, and that change is inevitable.

A promise of ‘The Good Place’: Dystopia in Kate Wilhelm’s The Funeral and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.

Dystopia which is presumed to be the antonym of the word utopia instigates the idea that a given society is governed by a totalitarian regime in which constructs fear and anxiety to its people. In many dystopian texts, the main aim of the rulers is to create a better world according to their own ideologies by believing that they are creating a ‘utopia’. This conviction divides society into two; the ones who join the cause and the ones who are against it. However, the most loyal to the cause are the creators of the so called ‘utopia’ and the ones who are afraid to die. As a result, the promise of ‘the good place’ triumphs only to establish a community that is portrayed as oppressed with constant unhappiness. This article analyses both the individuals and the dystopian society while taking into consideration dystopian elements like totalitarian regime and fear, pseudo-utopia, and division in society that takes place in the short story The Funeral (1972) by Kate Wilhelm and the novel Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro. The purpose of this article is to investigate the concept of dystopia in these texts by engaging Adorno and Horkheimer’s ‘administered world’, Plato’s ‘social classes’, Louis Althusser’s ‘interpellation’ and ‘Repressive State Apparatus’ along with his ‘Ideological State Apparatus’, Mihail Bakhtin’s ‘authoritative language’, and finally Michel Foucault’s ‘carceral society’ in connection with Jeremy Bentham’s ‘panopticon’.

Locating the Subject in Postmodern State: A Critique of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day

A British novelist of Japanese origin, Kazuo Ishiguro explores the social and political atmosphere of England that unsettled the nation in the decade after World War I. He brings to notice the significant role of an individual’s inner emotional dilemma of the professional self. This paper then offers a close reading of Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989), exploring the discourse of the subject within a social, political and ideological framework that constructs the concept of selfhood. This play of socio-political ideologies includes subjects that are no more than cultural performances. Centring on Ishiguro’s exploration of this decentred subject, this paper scrutinises the symbolic link between the protagonist Stevens’s selfhood caused by self-deception or the ideological state apparatus and fictional world leaders’ discourse on professionalism. From this viewpoint, the main objective of the paper is to uncover how Ishiguro’s work dramatises the transformation of the modernist preconstituted subject into the postmodernist decentred subject.

Obraz Wschodu w powieściach historycznych Kazimierza Korkozowicza

The article presents the image of the East in historical novels by Kazimierz Korkozowicz, including the works of the author of Jeźdźcy apokalipsy (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), published in the period between 1970–1990. It refers the notion of the East to Eastern Europe and analysesthe use of historical‑philosophical myth of the East by the writer. The paper also includes the interpretation of the novel, using the category of culture as an ideology of social groups, bearing in mind the fact that culture, including literature, is a tool of ideological impact on society by means of Althusser’s ideological state apparatuses. It examines the cognitive capabilities of various literary methodologies towards analyzed works. It describes the profile of the author of Przyłbice i kaptury and refers to the ongoing discussion about his works.

Ulster versus Éire: Border Narratives in Cinema Newsreels

Ulster versus Éire (1938) was an American March of Time newsreel exploring the complexities of Irish politics on both sides of the border. It came hot on the heels of an earlier film made by the same company, misleadingly titled Irish Republic (1937). The first film had sparked an attempt by the Northern Ireland government to present a propagandised film about the north in response to what was seen to be a favourable depiction of the south. Remarkably, the two films utilised much of the same footage to present two starkly contrasting narratives of ‘two Irelands’. This article explores how representations of the border in cinema newsreels failed to fully reflect the complexities of partition, but very clearly established a partitionist mentality in depicting two separate peoples, north and south of the border. The growth of this partitionist mentality is traced through stories covering the Home Rule movement and partition of Ireland in the 1910s and 1920s, the growing divide between north and south during the economically turbulent 1930s and the pressure placed on Ireland to reconsider its neutral status during the Second World War. Against this backdrop, the newsreels function as both a reflective cultural barometer of shifting perspectives on Ireland throughout the early twentieth century and an active Althusserian ‘Ideological State Apparatus’ in embodying and circulating British and American political attitudes to the border in an 'unofficial' capacity.

The Construction of Identities

This article explores how Naomi Wallace’s In the Heart of America demonstrates the interconnectedness of xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination in American life and politics. Through the critiques offered by Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, this article investigates the relationships between ideological state apparatuses, production of power and the construction of social identities. The subjugated characters in the play attempt to resist, negotiate and accommodate normative or regulative discursive processes that impose fixed identities upon them. Wallace’s play demonstrates that resistance constitutes power, which can be either weak, submissive, creative, and/or productive. Raising awareness of the possibilities of resistance to subjectifying power is what In the Heart of America yearns to do.

Ideology as a function in Rousseau's Social Contract

AbstractThis paper demonstrates how ideology plays a major, but previously neglected role in Rousseau's treatment of politics in the Social Contract. Specifically, it shows how a number of key elements in his line of argument come close to ideology criticism as it is conceived in Louis Althusser's theory of ideological state apparatuses. This is the case not just in relation to the distinction between general will and particular will, but also in relation to such concepts as property and social contract. However, the paper also demonstrates how this pre‐Marxist understanding of ideology co‐exists in the text with a different and more primitive understanding of ideology which is incompatible with Marxism and which points back to Rousseau's previous discourse on the origins of inequality. The paper concludes that while there are definitely elements in Rousseau's text which point toward a future development of the theme of ideology in Marxist theory, the Social Contract on the whole is characterized by heterogeneity on this topic.

Sanitizing a crisis: The three dimensions of an enhanced regime of accumulation

AbstractIn many western countries the Covid crisis has evolved from a public health crisis toward an economic crisis. Spain was no exception. Crises are always key moments in the reconfiguration of the role of the state, as this takes on new domains and functions. Conceiving state's role as a triad helps us understanding its functioning. From the initial stage, state work has been intense in order to mitigate its effects. But the Spanish particularity is the specific articulation of state apparatuses. As in previous crises, Spain has deployed a significant activity to police the public order. The policing of public spaces was tailored to ensure the economic apparatuses remain unchallenged. A new mode of regulation has been established to allow an enhanced regime of capital accumulation through different financial instruments. Despite the frequent neglect of ideological state apparatuses, this paper exposes how relevant they are in moments of impasse to produce a new moral economy reassuring the hegemonic project of the elites.