1. What is a Repressive State Apparatus? Why does Althusser call it “repressive”? Can we explain his choice of words here. Give an example.

A Repressive State Apparatus, as termed by Louis Althusser, refers to institutions like the police, military, and courts that enforce obedience to the ruling class through coercion and force. Althusser labels it “repressive” because these apparatuses rely on violence and punishment to maintain social order and suppress dissent. For example, in authoritarian regimes, the government may use the police to quell protests and imprison political opponents, illustrating the repressive nature of these state mechanisms. The term highlights the role of coercion and repression in upholding existing power structures.

2. Let’s do the same for the Ideological State Apparatuses. What are they, how do they seem to work?

The Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) are institutions and systems within society that disseminate and reinforce the dominant ideology of the ruling class. Unlike the Repressive State Apparatus, which uses coercion and force, ISAs operate through persuasion, socialization, and ideological manipulation. Examples of ISAs include educational institutions, media, religious organizations, family, and cultural institutions. These apparatuses shape individuals’ beliefs, values, and attitudes, influencing how they perceive the world and their role within it. Through education, media messages, religious teachings, and cultural norms, ISAs perpetuate the ideas and values that serve the interests of the ruling class, thereby maintaining their ideological

3. Important: this question will appear on our exam: How are the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses different from each other? What is the difference between the two?

The Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) differ in their methods of maintaining social order and enforcing the dominance of the ruling class. Repressive State Apparatuses rely on coercion, force, and direct violence to enforce obedience and suppress dissent. They include institutions such as the police, military, courts, and prisons, which have the authority to physically or legally punish individuals who challenge or oppose the ruling ideology. In contrast, Ideological State Apparatuses operate through persuasion, socialization, and ideological manipulation. They include institutions such as education, media, religion, family, and cultural institutions, which shape individuals’ beliefs, values, and attitudes. ISAs perpetuate the dominant ideology by disseminating its ideas and values throughout society, influencing how people perceive the world and their place within it.

4. Post an example of ideology. This could be a piece of writing, an image, video, pdf document, visual art, or music, clip from a movie. Next to your example, specify if this is an example of repressive or ideological apparatuses at work. I’ll start us of off by giving an example.

“The Pursuit of Happiness'” (2006). This is a movie about the American Dream. This film follows the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman who faces homelessness while trying to provide for his young son. Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, Gardner perseveres through hard work and determination to ultimately achieve success and achieve his version of the American Dream. This movie portrays the American Dream as a deeply ingrained cultural belief in upward mobility and the possibility of overcoming adversity through individual effort, making it an example of an Ideological State Apparatus at work. “The American Dream” is widely circulated concept in American society that promotes the idea that anyone can achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination, regardless of their background or social status. This is an example of an Ideological State Apparatus at work because it shapes individuals’ beliefs and values, reinforcing the notion that success is attainable through individual effort rather than through systemic inequalities or barriers.

1. What is a Repressive State Apparatus? Why does Althusser call it “repressive”? Can we explain his choice of words here. Give an example.
Althusser defines a Repressive State Apparatus as something that controls you through a threat of violence. Examples of this include police, courts, and the prison system. He calls it repressive because these means are used to stop someone from doing something that upsets the status quo by punishing them when they get out of line. This represses their ability to continue to act in ways that go against the status quo.

2. Let’s do the same for the Ideological State Apparatuses. What are they, how do they seem to work?
Ideological State Apparatuses maintain the status quo by keeping people in their place through the want to fit in, belong to groups, and be perceived as normal. They work by using social pressure to stop people from pursuing genuine change for fear of no longer fitting in. People are expected to behave in specific, approved ways and changes are pursued in socially acceptable ways. Examples of Ideological State Apparatuses include school, politics, and mass media.

3. Important: this question will appear on our exam: How are the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses different from each other? What is the difference between the two?
Repressive State Apparatuses are tools that are meant to stop people from acting against the status quo through fear of punishment, while Ideological State Apparatuses are meant to uphold the status quo by social conditioning and pressure. Ideological State Apparatuses seem to be more subconscious as they are built into society and engrained in people from a young age, while Repressive State Apparatuses are more overt by nature of being punishments. Ideological State Apparatuses maintain the status quo due to it becoming the natural way that most people will engage with the world and Repressive State Apparatuses exist to maintain the status quo by removing your freedom.

4. Post an example of ideology. This could be a piece of writing, an image, video, pdf document, visual art, or music, clip from a movie. Next to your example, specify if this is an example of repressive or ideological apparatuses at work. I’ll start us of off by giving an example.

I chose to share a clip from a reality television series called “Beyond Scared Straight,” which would place “troubled teenagers” in prison in order to try to scare them into changing in order to avoid potentially ending up in prison one day themselves. This show is an example of repressive apparatuses at work as the goal of it was to use fear in order to return these teenagers to the status quo. The purpose is to scare them with the threat of what prison may be like in order to convince them to change their behavior to what is considered to be acceptable to society. If they do not, then they will be met with a more extreme repressive apparatus: losing their freedom to the American prison system.

1. A Repressive state Apparatus As Althusser refers to and defined it as a system in society that controls us through punishment. Althusser calls it “repressive” because it signifies how the government uses tactics to empower themselves.
2. Ideological State Apparatuses unlike Repressive State Apparatus,  look to empower the society through schooling and informing.
3.  Both  Ideological State Apparatuses and Repressive State Apparatuses uphold their system’s ideology. They are different because of the way they influence people. Repressive state Apparatus is through violence and Ideological State Apparatuses through learning and ideas.
4. link of video below of prison system and it is an example of Repressive State Apparatuses. https://youtu.be/4iEcL6TVw9g?si=y3s_OC0pCFc1Vwnn

1. Repressive state apparatus are ways that operate through violence and force. It’s a way the state maintains controls through forceable acts. example of what repressive state apparatus may consist of are the police department and the prison system. The reason Althusser call it “repressive” is because it enforces violence, punishments and control of people.
2. Ideological State Apparatus are things such as family, education and or social media that shows what the state values.
3. The difference between Repressive state and Ideological apparatus is one uses violence to get their point across (Repressive) while the other one does not (Ideological).
4. Authoritarianism stands for a strong state government that enforces strict obedience to the authorities. It does not tolerate dissent and prioritizes the interests of the ruling government party over individual liberties. This is an example of repressive state apparatus.

Repressive state apparatus prevents change and enforces listening to authority due force so this is like the police or court, they responsible for punishing and controlling order, it is called repressive because it’s emphasis on force and violence, emphasizing the punishment turn control whereas ideological state apparatus is the opposite and doesn’t contain force but more persuasive such as media showing ideologies through media or it being taught in school the difference between the two is that repressive state apparatus is use of authority and ideological is not authorize but informative. The example I’ve attached shows an example of ideological through media such as a movie showing gender inequality using entertainment to convey this

Okay, let ‘s go to the questions, consider the following:

1. What is a Repressive State Apparatus? Why does Althusser call it “repressive”? Can we explain his choice of words here. Give an example.

2. Let’s do the same for the Ideological State Apparatuses. What are they, how do they seem to work?

3. Important: this question will appear on our exam: How are the Repressive and Ideological State Apparatuses different from each other? What is the difference between the two?

4. Post an example of ideology. This could be a piece of writing, an image, video, pdf document, visual art, or music, clip from a movie. Next to your example, specify if this is an example of repressive or ideological apparatuses at work. I’ll start us of off by giving an example.

NOTE: Once you’ve scheduled your post to be published on at midnight on Sunday, you can still go back and edit your post until then, if you want to rewrite and/or add to your post.

As a review, follow the following steps to submit your response:

1. Click on the “+” button in the black bar at the top of the screen
2. Type a title for the post (it should include your full name)
3. Type your response
4. On the right side, click on Categories: and check “Discussion 3.2”
5. Important: On the right side, at the top: click on the date next to Publish, and enter your post date, which is this coming Sunday, at 11:59pm.
6. Click Publish and you’re done.

What will happen next is your post will automatically be published by the OpenLab system on Sunday at midnight. The goal here is for all student posts to be published at the same deadline. After that point, you can begin reading each others’ posts, and you have to comment on at least one other student’s post.

Note: please make sure that you schedule your post to be published on Sunday, midnight, not before.