Blog Post #4

Marxist Media Criticism

Marxist media criticism is the analyzation of any type of media through reflecting the work against social structures and unpacking how they are presented within that certain piece of media. Like Marxist literary criticism, Marxist media criticism strives to decode and decipher the work more acutely and with more conviction toward meaning, however, they differ in that media criticism approaches any type of media artifact. Marxist criticism attempts to find a parallel reflections of social structures within works of art or commercialism that in turn effects the individual consuming said media’s ideology. It is human nature to feel a desire to belong or become a part of a larger group. This is why it is natural for an individual to associate themselves with larger like-minded social structures (republican versus democratic beliefs for instance). These larger social structures then inherently have a voice within the individual’s mind, whatever agenda is of importance to the larger mass becomes an issue to the individual, and begins to allow us to analyze his behavior and influences accordingly.

One example of how Marxism is used in today’s media to take a look at how power structures are depicted within a modern rendition of a classic folk tale: A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. In the show, Scrooge, who represents the wealthy class, is portrayed by the only human actor on cast. Scrooge is juxtaposed against the other Muppets in the town, representing the working class, who are all Muppets dolls and emphasize scrooge’s age and perceived orneriness. Scrooge is portrayed as being cold, blinded by money, and without love in his live; the muppets, however, live robust, colorful lives in seemingly utter bliss of their economic situation. The show depicts the working class as being more good natured and trust worthy, making it the more appealing side to the viewer.