Interpellation

Interpellation, a term coined by French Marxist philosopher Louis Althousser, describes the process by which ideology addresses the individual.

To illustrate how interpellation functions in the context of ideology Althousser used the example of the policeman who shouts "Hey, you there!" At least one individual will turn around (most likely the right one) to "answer" that call. At this moment, when one realizes that the call is for oneself, one becomes a subject relative to the ideology of law and crime. According to Althusser, this is the way in which ideology generally functions. We are all always caught up in the process in which we voluntarily acknowledge the validity or relevance of the dominant ideology in which we live for ourselves and thus subject ourselves to it. The example of the policeman furthermore suggests that we really have not a choice in this matter. Were we to ignore the call, we would sooner or later be forced to adhere to it.

Interpellation draws on the theory (developed by Althousser and critics such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Julia Kristeva, and Jacques Lacan) that the notion of the autonomous, fully coherent and actualized human subject is an illusion, an ideological construction meant to further the agendas of capitalism and liberal humanism (and thus a central feature of their discourses). In fact, human beings are emeshed in numerous discursive and social structures that to a greater or lesser degree shape an individual's identity. Further, individuals in modern societies are not of "one mind,." but have contradictory and fragmented consciousness that includes a dimly understood subconscious.
[1] Adapted in part from Brooker, A Concise Glossary of Cultural Theory