Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Meme Responses to Althusser's Essay

February 26th

What confused Russ:
“It is necessary to add that this determination of the double “functioning” (pre-dominantly, secondarily) by repression and by ideology, according to whether it is a matter of the (repressive) State Apparatus and the ideological state apparatuses? Every life provides us with innumerable examples of this, but they must be studied in detail if we are to go further than this mere observation" (Althusser 81).
His response: "This passage just… confounds me. It’s taxonomy makes no sense to me, using terms like “pre-dominantly, secondarily” in the same line and context without differentiating the two. Did I miss a line earlier? And why does the next line end as a question? Just the phrasing throws me off and makes this hard to read. The next line intonates that this passage is a throwaway discourse for the audience, relating that this argument is fallible? I DON’T GET IT. THIS WHOLE THING MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A RUBE WHO NEEDS TO CATCH UP ON MY FRENCH PHILOSOPHY."

My meme in response to Russ' confusion:

Trollface - writer uses the words "pre-dominantly" and "secondarily" in the same sentence

I have no answer for Russ' confusion b/c I am confused as well.  I honestly feel that by juxtaposing the oxymoronic words "pre-dominantly" and "secondarily," the writer is trolling with us.  It's as if he is trying to make us question our intellect by talking in this vague, riddle-like language.  Or maybe the writer is confused himself.  Maybe he does understand the definitions of those two words and that something cannot be dominant and secondary at the same time.  Or it could've been a simple typo that was overlooked.  However, I agree that the juxtaposition of these two words offsets the argument that the writer is trying to make.

What confused Marc: Beneath Ruling Ideology

His response: '"Beneath Ruling Ideology' is something I am unfamiliar about.
I am aware that it involves different classes, but to what extent and what is their ideology on the whole matter of Repressive State Apparatus vs. Ideological State Apparatuses."


My meme in response to Marc's confusion:

What If I Told You Meme - Truth is the ruling class controls the system

The author is trying to say that an ideology usually belongs to a ruling class.  Because of the class' power, those within the ruling class have some control in the Ideological and Repressive State Apparatuses.  To a certain degree, the ruling class has dominance over those who does not have as much power.  Their ideologies tend to be heard more and can overpower the ideologies of the lower classes. 

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