Cultural dominance operates through preferred readings, not determination

Evidence

We say “dominant,” not “determined,” because it is always possible to order, classify, assign, and decode an event within more than one “mapping.” But we say “dominant” because there exists a pattern of “preferred readings,” and these mappings both have the institutional/political/ideological order imprinted in them and have themselves become institutionalized. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 802

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precisely distinguishes ‘dominant’ from ‘determined’ — a foundational distinction in Hall’s theory.
• XREF: This distinction between dominance and determination resonates with Gramsci’s hegemony versus Althusser’s structural determination debates.