Marxism and hegemony

 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 Capital features a left-wing ideology because it positively represents minority groups like muslims, immigrants ect. 

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?

• A Muslim man whose only crime was to burn the odd Union Jack (he fell in with the wrong crowd, m’lud) was dragged off to the cells by anti-terror police who were, naturally, bigoted and faceless. The crusading lawyer (a woman, of course) who had him freed was fuming about the Terrorism Act, which she called ‘deplorable’.
• 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.
• You can be certain it wasn’t the plot that attracted the BBC drama department in the first place. Capital was as stuffed full with fashionable causes as Jeremy Corbyn’s function diary.

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
The scene of Roger and his boss in the bank could be read as promoting a left-wing ideology because they represent the bankers as unfit for their jobs, since they don't know what their workers are actually doing, and overall criticises capitalism for they was it can be negative for all parts of the system.

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

Roger and his family, although complaining about money, are shown to be well off which could promote the benefits of capitalistic views.

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 is held by a minority (the elite or bourgeoisie) who have access to capital and could use their money and power to generate more wealth.

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.

Jeremy Kyle Show- It demonises the working class as it portrays them to be aggressive, stupid and overdramatises their lives.

I, Daniel Blake- It could be seen as fetishising the working-class as the main character is seen to stick to the moral compass layer out to him by law and hopes the system does him right.

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.

Capital portrays the powerful elite as non-beneficial to the masses, the police struggle to solve the crime and the bankers don't understand what their workers are doing. It isn't in favour of the masses being in the subdominant position because it critiques police and is in favour of immigration. It somewhat portrays the values of the elite as right since the police is trying to solve the mystery which is the 'right' thing to do however, they also falsely accuse a person they think is the culprit (which is wrong). It agrees with the ideology that being a member of the mass is a good thing in the sense of being a part of a community. It does show the masses accepting the values of the elite but only out of need for example Quentina having to obey the system although she doesn't actually want to.