Textual Analysis: Inspire

Dominant ideology are the views, messages and values projected and held by a mainstream society.
This links with Gramsci Hegmony's theory of representation who believed that representation is unequal. In other words, this exemplifies the idea that dominant ideology is represented the most and therefore, that is what people are likely to believe. For example, minority groups are often under-represented and consequently become misrepresented. Contradictory to this, the majority are represented the most, and are able to impose stereotypes onto those other than the mainstream society. Dyer supports this argument by stating that those with power stereotype those with less power. This suggests that those higher up on the social hierarchy hold the representations.

This theory can be applied to the short film 'Inspired'. Inspired illustrates this idea through the use of sound. Throughout the film, there is a voice-over which directly addresses the audience which has many effects; the dialogue makes it more personal as the character is communicating directly to the audience. This could lead to reflection on the stereotypes of society and the prominent ideals that we have to live by, linking back to Hegmony's theory. The voice-over then follows to a close-up shot of the character talking who is directly confronting the issues of discrimination. He describes how society has learnt an association between dangers such a terrorist attacks and the consequence that is the negative stereotypes of people of a certain religion/ethnicity. This portrays the traditional representations which are often seen in mainstream media.

Furthermore, the mise en scene supports the theory of Tessa Perkins who stated "Stereotypes are assumptions we make based on a group of people." This is demonstrated through the iconography of the laptop displaying a daily mail article on recent terrorist attacks and suspects. Evidently, society identifies this with similar people and uses this assumption on the rest of the ethic/religious group, representing them in a negative light. Considering this, there are some conflicting representations linking to Perkins' statements that stereotypes are not always negative and are not always about the minority. Inspired actually contradicts this but shows the opposing sides of stereotypes to demonstrate this theory. Moreover, this also incorporates Stan Cohen's theory or representation; cultures are subject to moral panic when a group or person has become defined as a threat to societal values and interest. This links to the whole idea that society now has learnt to assume that certain ethnicity are seen as a threat to peace, thus, 'Inspired' portrays the idea that Muslims are often feared because of their religion. However, the use of cutaways then contrast this to amplify that stereotypes do not always apply to everyone, supporting Perkins' theory.

Through the use of editing techniques, bell hooks theory can be applied. There is cross-cutting throughout to show the different groups of society. bell hooks believed that skin colour is a code which the lighter the skin, the more desirable to fit into society. Each cross-cut shows a person with a different ethnicity, portraying the idea that skin colour influences the position in the social hierarchy. Inspired foretells the struggles which suggests that the minority struggle in society.

Berger stated that 'men look, women appear'. This effectively describes the media, saying that women are there solely for the objectification of men. Berger's theory can be applied to the homeless woman, where the use of camera angles and movements demonstrate this. The camera shows a close-up shot so the audience focuses on male at the back looking admiring towards the homeless woman. This also demonstrates Laura Mulvey's theory where women are seen as an object in mainstream media. The wider issues portrays the problems within media; it could be argued that it is almost supporting the patriarchy where men are seen as more important whilst women are there only to satisfy men. This could be inferred by the deep focus shot, focusing on the male rather than the homeless woman at the front. From this, it could be inferred that he is more significant as often stereotyped in society.

Inspired reflects on the lifestyle of society as a whole and exemplifies the dominant ideology, as supporting mainstream media. Showing the contradicting side to those stereotypes, Guantlett reflects on the idea that "ideas about lifestyle and identity that appear in the media are resources which individuals use to think through their sense of self and mode expression". This explores how society or individuals react to a stereotype portrayed in media rather than what the content is. Guantlett believed that media messages can be diverse so it can be interpreted differently, but it is about how people interpret it. This leads to the idea that people can construct their own identity to show what they want people to see. This can be through the use of media. Inspired also strongly supports Gary Giddens who stated that mediated experiences make us reflect upon and re-think our own self-narrative in relation to others. Again, although media has a strong influence on an individuals belief, it is about how we choose our actions towards others, in which, Inspired strongly supports.