Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks
Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks
Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?
Capital uses negative stereotyping of its white British characters (Roger and Arabella) and a diverse cast of characters to impose a left-wing ideology on its audience. 'Political correctness' was also brought up, implying that the show was not intended to tell a complex tale about London's housing crisis but rather to promote causes like multiculturalism.
2) Choose three quotes from the review that are particularly critical of Capital and paste them into your blogpost. Do you agree with the criticisms? Why?
-With a fizzle like a firework on a wet night, Capital (BBC1) dribbled to a soggy ending. It started with such a brilliant display, but by the finish we were left staring at the proverbial damp squib.
Although Capital's storyline and characters make clear that the film strongly supports left-wing ideologies, one could argue that some of Capital's work-related ideas—for example, the Mail Online review that the "hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant"—are capitalistic in nature and place a strong emphasis on hard work, a trait that only the characters are meant to be sympathetic to possess. Arabella and Roger also speak negatively of immigrants and diversity and believe that everyone should work very hard for their money and they clearly have a left wing and capitalist mindset.
Task 2: Media Factsheet - Applying Marxism
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #66: Applying Marxism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level or online here (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access). Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) What does Marxism suggest regarding power in society?
2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?
3) Come up with two examples of media texts (e.g. TV programmes, newspapers etc.) that either fetishise working class life (e.g. EastEnders presents quite a harmonious East End community which probably doesn't accurately reflect East London life) or demonise working class life or poor people (e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers regularly demonise people living on benefits with headlines referring to 'scroungers'.) Explain what meanings these texts communicate to their audiences.
Shameless- shows how the mom or the family struggle financially to gain money and provide as they are shameless of their actions as well.
Titanic- characters originally working class.
4) Look at the bullet points on page 4 of the factsheet:
When making a Marxist reading of a text, look out for representations that:
-The last 20 minutes contained no plot. Whatever story there had ever been was over. We just watched all the characters saying goodbye to each other, including an excruciating round of farewells as Mrs Kamal kissed her sons outside the corner shop, with a banal word for all of them.
-While the English residents of Pepys Road were grasping (Lesley Sharp) or deceitful (Robert Emms) or just plain awful (Stirling),
- I agree with this statement "But that concept went nowhere. The residents were bemused, but not scared. The police were clueless, but they still got to the bottom of it. And there wasn’t just a single perpetrator: the crime was handed from one cardboard character to the next. That’s not a whodunnit, it’s a cop-out."
3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
Roger and Arabella's scenes promote a left-wing representation of capitalism where the upper middle class are arrogant and inconsiderate of their immense privilege. Kamal's family and Quentina working feels like they are left wing as they are socialists as well as when Arabella came to Kamal's corner shop and didn't know how to react to simple kindness this shows how it contrasts. Moreover it creates sympathy for Quentina which is working class but also shows us how Kamal's family middle class within the family diner or the corner shop scene how they have a socialist view and mindset which makes them left wing.
4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce right-wing or capitalist viewpoints?
Roger and Arabella's scenes promote a left-wing representation of capitalism where the upper middle class are arrogant and inconsiderate of their immense privilege. Kamal's family and Quentina working feels like they are left wing as they are socialists as well as when Arabella came to Kamal's corner shop and didn't know how to react to simple kindness this shows how it contrasts. Moreover it creates sympathy for Quentina which is working class but also shows us how Kamal's family middle class within the family diner or the corner shop scene how they have a socialist view and mindset which makes them left wing.
4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce right-wing or capitalist viewpoints?
Although Capital's storyline and characters make clear that the film strongly supports left-wing ideologies, one could argue that some of Capital's work-related ideas—for example, the Mail Online review that the "hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant"—are capitalistic in nature and place a strong emphasis on hard work, a trait that only the characters are meant to be sympathetic to possess. Arabella and Roger also speak negatively of immigrants and diversity and believe that everyone should work very hard for their money and they clearly have a left wing and capitalist mindset.
Task 2: Media Factsheet - Applying Marxism
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #66: Applying Marxism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level or online here (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access). Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) What does Marxism suggest regarding power in society?
Power relationships and have been influential in economics, politics and sociology and can be very useful for media students. Marx saw that certain structures in society act to support the financial power-base. He saw structures of society actively engaged in this type of social control.
2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?
The fact that Sugar has all the power reinforces the ‘superior’ position of the capitalist elite. He has power as he has used the system to create wealth and he is shown using this power to provide a livelihood for the winner of the competition.
3) Come up with two examples of media texts (e.g. TV programmes, newspapers etc.) that either fetishise working class life (e.g. EastEnders presents quite a harmonious East End community which probably doesn't accurately reflect East London life) or demonise working class life or poor people (e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers regularly demonise people living on benefits with headlines referring to 'scroungers'.) Explain what meanings these texts communicate to their audiences.
Shameless- shows how the mom or the family struggle financially to gain money and provide as they are shameless of their actions as well.
Titanic- characters originally working class.
4) Look at the bullet points on page 4 of the factsheet:
When making a Marxist reading of a text, look out for representations that:
- show the values of the power elite as beneficial to the mass
-The failure of the bankers is what caused the housing crisis and so need to be protected in order for things to go back to normal
- show queries or challenges to the base as meaningless, foolish or anti-social via ‘failed revolt
- show the subdominant position of the masses as a naturalised idea
- show the values of the power elite as ‘natural’ or ‘right’
- show that being a member of the mass is a good thing
- show the masses accepting the values of the power elite
- show the values of the power elite as being ‘for the good of the masses’ (even when unpleasant)
Comments
Post a Comment