Blog #4 Marxism

When most people think of Marxism, government structure, and Karl Marx typically come to mind. As we learned in class, Marxism can be applied as a new concept  to be used while analyzing media. The concept of Marxism focuses on the hierarchy of power and the ideologies we create in a society. When critiquing media using the Marxism method, look for how the media emphasizes on who has power and what ideologies they are attempting to follow or break away from. Ideology is a very important element to Marxism and is defined as beliefs that are considered the norm of society. A great example of an ideology that we saw in class when watching "Freaks and Geeks" was the idea of only passing out wrapped candy. This concept is something we all remember being worried about as kids. It's a great example of an ideology because it's a belief that's widely known and considered a norm to society. The Cosby Show was a great example of how media can break an ideology. An upper middle-class, African-American, family was on tv and depicted like any other family. It broke the norm of what people thought an African American family looked like. False consciousness is another element of Marxism that is used all over the society we live in today. Media uses its power to paint a picture of the perfect body, clothing and lifestyle, giving society the wrong idea. We are taught to believe that this is the way we need to look or the life we need to live, when in reality, all of that isn't reality.