Prompt #1

The Coca-Cola advertisement helps me interpret hegemony by making a broad statement. While the scene is what Americans consider normal, the main focus is outlandish and draws attention due to that fact.

Hegemony is the dominant force in society. It is what the populace accepts without a second thought because it occurs persistently through society. The dominant ideology of our culture has become common sense to the typical person in everyday life. Most hegemonic ideals have been created from a struggle in our history, the winning concept becomes expected, such as the struggle for the freedom of slavery.

This specific Coca-Cola ad gives the scenic view of a standard beach during the summer. The people in the picture are laying out at the beach while couples walk along the tide and families play and splash in the water. The audience’s focus is automatically drawn to what is bizarre and definitely not a social norm, in this case it is a penguin who stole a man’s Coca-Cola. The bottle appears to be frozen, making it all the more appealing to the penguin. This ad attempts to create another hegemonic idea, that Coca-Cola is cold and refreshing in the summer heat. In order for the circumstance to come off as hegemonic the rest of the picture is natural to the American eye. The white sand also contributes to the effect because it appears as ordinary to the penguin who would typically be on ice that looks a lot like the color of the sand. The company is pushing the soda to the general public through the ideology that Coca-Cola is positive and refreshing in the summer.