Final answer:
Conflicts within mainstream society over cultural values and norms are called 'culture wars'. These conflicts are ideological clashes that challenge the dominant narrative and cultural norms, often polarizing society.
Step-by-step explanation:
Conflicts within mainstream society about which values and norms should be upheld or shifted are commonly referred to as culture wars. This term describes the deep divisions between groups in society based on their cultural beliefs and practices. These wars manifest through various social issues, often polarizing society.
Culture wars involve a clash of ideologies where groups with differing values, beliefs, and worldviews contest the dominant narrative and struggle for societal influence. Societies consist of various cultural norms that guide behavior and expectations, and during culture wars, these norms are questioned and challenged.
The concept of hegemony, introduced by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, refers to the dominant cultural norms that reiterate and maintain the economic and social power of the ruling class. Conversely, counterculture groups actively reject and oppose the dominant cultural patterns and strive to establish their values and norms, which often results in cultural change.
The term symbolic culture does not refer to conflicts but instead describes the symbols and language that convey the values and norms of a society. Counterculture is related but different, as these groups reject mainstream cultural norms and establish their own. The option hegemony denotes the widely accepted cultural beliefs that support the status quo but does not specifically address the conflicts over cultural values.