Marxism & hegemony

Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital

1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?

It suggests that Capital features a left wing ideology through it's diverse range of characters and the use of negative stereotypes in the case of white British characters such as Roger, Arabella and Petunia.

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?

'The last 20 minutes contained no plot. Whatever story there had ever been was over.'
-> The last 20 mins was quite confusing as to how quickly everything just happened. I do agree with the quote.

'The hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant, determined to pay her way and not touch a penny of benefits. She was deported, though she did find time to teach English to some of her fellow saints at the detention centre.'
-> This may show Quentina's determination to make something for herself even if it was illegally working. She even managed to help others while in a crisis herself.

'The Polish builder had a heart of gold and his Hungarian girlfriend was as honest as Mother Teresa.'

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?

Some characters that promote left wing ideology are Roger and Arabella.

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce right-wing or capitalist viewpoints?

It could be interpreted as right-wing because it reinforces typical characters such as Roger and his family. He is viewed as a classic white male who is seeking dominance as he is the family's sole provider. It may be interpreted as a mix of both, but there is a stronger tendency toward right-wing because there is a lot of authority and hierarchy on their block, and Roger and Arabella have never been to the corner shop or seen the Kamal family.

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?

His ideas deal with social and economic power relationships and have been influential in economics, politics and sociology and can be very useful for media students. Power was held by a minority who had access to capital and could use their money and power to generate even more. 

2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?

The fact that Lord 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: The story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need help and find it in Steve, a young middle class lad who falls for Fiona, the oldest sibling, and increasingly finds himself drawn to this unconventional and unique family.

Only Fools & Horses: Only Fools and Horses is regularly voted one of the greatest sitcoms in history, following brothers Del and Rodney who work their socks off to make ends meet.

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
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)
Now try applying those bullet points to Capital. Think about the setting, characters and narrative strands - how many of the bullet points apply to Capital? Does Capital reinforce or challenge the values of capitalism? Give examples from episode 1 to support your points.