Thompson defines ideology as “meaning in the service of power”. Ideology is basically a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world. Ideology is related to concepts such as world-view, belief system and values. It refers not only to the beliefs held about the world but also to the basic way in which the world is defines. In other world, ideology creates a “common senses” for the society.

Stereotypes comprise an ordering process. It works because they re-present a view of reality that we all recognize. In other words, it is a short cut to reality. It is an easy-to-understand form and is an essential part of making sense of the world and society. Ideologies are embedded in a range of media genres. They become part of our habitus, creates a way of being and seeing. For instance, the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype specified women with blonde hair is sexually attractive but dumb. Indeed, hair colour has nothing related to intelligence, women with blonde hair does not have to be dumb necessary. Stereotypes are not true of false, but it reflects a particular set of ideological values, they present themselves as ‘common sense’.

Narrative is what we think and how we make sense of our experience. Narratives can be open or closed. Close narrative structures yield a ‘happy-ever-after’ finale. Open narrative structures invite the audience to ponder the ending(s). Tzvetan Todorov suggests that all narrative is a movement between two equilibriums, start with a stable situation, than something happens which introduce a disequilibrium to the situation, and end up with a resolution. Narratives set up key puzzle or questions that hook the audience into the narrative. Normally, audiences are invited to take up a position of identification with the main characters or to empathies with them by the way events are filmed and the way how story is presented. Furthermore, the way how characters are positioned in the narrative give audiences a way of how they are expected to understand the story.

‘Poing of view’ is the positions cameras take and whose viewpoint they show the viewer. It is about where the viewer is positioned in relation to the screen characters and the narrative world, and about how the text addresses its audience. Most of the films encourage audience to identify the main character, see things from the perspective of the main character. Moreover, how the events is order might affect how we interpret the film. Films or television programs could lead audiences to its focus point and attention through the order of events.

There are a number of different discourses in a film or television narrative in order to explain or comment on the situation. For instance, each episode of Gossip Girl starts with a young women’s voiceover that says, “Gossip girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.” And at the end of each episode the voice says “XOXO gossip girl.” This voice is a dominant discourse of Gossip girl as it is used frequently to progress the story forward or add a witty comment to acknowledge a happening. Since different characters have different ways of making sense of the world and speaking about it, a narrative will organize these voices into a particular hierarchy. Thus, one voice is heard as more important, more truthful than another. MacCabe argues that viewers make sense of all these competing voices, linking and comparing then until they are arranged into a hierarchy that finally produces a dominant discourse, the discourse that will ultimately give us the truth about events. Since every audience may take different discourse as the dominant discourse, the hierarchy discourse aimed to create a dominant discourse for all audience, in order to make sure that the audiences get the key message, see things as they see.
In my opinion, ideology is how we make sense of our life. It might not be completely accurate, but it represents a view of reality. Furthermore, we would not be able to communicate without ideology – a common sense. Gramsci argues that ideology is hegemony of the ruling class that makes all the people to accept their views and serve their interest. Indeed, people are not sponge that only absorbs information, we would think and criticize. Ideology gave us a sense of the reality, then we criticize through our experience.