Richard Butsch brings up an interesting point in speaking of the prevalence of working men and how such views illustrate ideological hegemony, the dominance of values in mainstream culture that justify and help to maintain the status quo (Butsch, 119). Butsch looks at three levels of organization: network domination of the industry, the organization of decisions within the networks and on the production line, and the work community and culture of the creative personnel.
In my blog entry, I will be focusing on the level of the Hollywood input - program production. It was really interesting to hear about the use of simple and repetitious stereotypes of working-class men. Whether it is back in the 90's, or today, there are those shows with men that are highly stereotyped as the "blue-collar worker suddenly appointed corporate executive." Whether it's a scary movie or a comedy film, you will most likely see this in today's movies. All of this time, I thought it was just a social norm and the way films have been reeling viewers in. Little did I know that a lot of producers stick to what is familiar to them whenever possible due to time constraints. There is also the possibility of producers risking losing their jobs, which no producer would ever want to go through.
Discussion Question: If it weren't for the creator's time schedules, do you think the issue of working-class men within the industry could change in 5, 10, or even 20 years? Why or why not? If so, in which ways do you see it changing? For the better, or for the worse?
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