Blog #4

At its basics, using a Marxist lens in media is the choice to view power structures, whether it be in a television show, a commercial, or other media artifacts. In general, Marxism revolves around material possessions, what people have. In order to understand best, we'll use a television show as an example. For Marxism in media, we will look at what power and influence characters “have”, which won’t necessarily stem from material possessions.

A "media marxist" would look at the individuals in the show, and evaluate the social roles that each person plays and how they interact with each other. Marxists would ask questions like:

• Who does everyone listen to in the show?
• Who does the show seem to revolve around?
• Why is it that the show revolves around them?
• Who gets their way the most?

The answers to these questions would be the people who are considered the elitists, or the social leaders. After we establish the elitists, there are three other “categories” that the rest of characters can fall into:

• Competitive individualist 
• Egalitarian
• Fatalist

The competitive individualist is mainly concerned with their own well being and their own success within the society. The egalitarian is simply a peacekeeper, and the fatalist just sees the bad in life or simply avoids anything “political”.  A viewer can identify where the other characters fit by observing how they interact with the elitist. Social interactions are the best way to identify the hierarchal structure and who has the most power.

Using a Marxist lens to observe media is also a way to analyze the ideology of a certain artifact. The power structure within an artifact can often point to the creator’s message and what they are trying to say about our own society in the real world (i.e. a call to fix a social issue).