Blog Post #4

To use Marxism to evaluate media, you must first be aware of the essential concepts that Marxism entails. The most essential concept is that everything is shaped by the economic system of society. This system determines who gets to have power and who doesn't. Power, in this case, means that a powerful person's ideas become other people's ideas. So, in short, people with the most power shape how we view the world. Thus, our ideas are not entirely our own. The ideas people have are those the ruling class wants them to have. Even though we do filter through these ideas and are not mindless followers, some ideas are less heard than others so we have less to filter through. This also builds upon the concept that knowledge is social. Obviously, one person can't know everything; so we each know bits and pieces and put our knowledge together to see the bigger picture. Some Marxists such as Enzenberger have a more cynical perspective on media, believing that all media manipulate. Or the Frankfurt School, that believes all media is controlling, therefore it is evil. Henri Lefebvre said that we are living in a "state of terror" because compulsion and the illusion of freedom have converged; so we think we want something out of our own free will, but we are actually being manipulated into wanting it. Another basic Marxist perspective is that our media preferences are shaped by the desire for our beliefs and values to be reinforced and not challenged. We consume media that does not conflict with what we believe in, to prevent cognitive dissonance. We see messages that reinforce the status quo as normal, and messages that challenge the status quo as abnormal or undesirable. Though the "status quo" is constantly shifting and changing as our beliefs and values change. Media that challenge the status quo become accepted later on.