Blog Post #4

Marxism in media is the analysis of social structures, popular beliefs, and the way that people are categorized into groups and their actions because of that. Many shows and movies will portray characters and ideas that are the norm of society that results in more people believing in whatever ideology is shown. But many times there are instances were media will break the norm and the results can change an entire belief. Shows like The Cosby Show, Will and Grace, and Modern Family are examples of breaking the ideology that people of color, homosexuals, and unconventional families cannot be successful or go through the same everyday things as the rest of society. A current example that is changing ideology is the children’s show Steven Universe.

Main character Steven is a short, chubby boy who is not afraid to cry or enjoy cuter things. Normally in media and real life boys are put down for crying and it is considered a weakness. Likewise, weight is commonly a topic of ridicule in most shows. But this is not the case for Steven. He is a generally a happy kid, who cries when he needs to and isn’t made fun of for this. He loves to eat and have snacks and that’s perfectly okay. By going against those ideologies, Steven Universe is teaching kids that it’s okay to be who you are, especially the chubbier kids who are shown as weak and unhealthy on other shows, both aimed at adults and children. 

Blog Post #4- Tiffany Holts

Marxism can be a tough subject to speak about because often times people can confuse it with history and previous marxist leaders. In the media-filled world, marxism does get more involved in the history and political view of things, but in a different way. For example, a TV show I was watching showcased two different types of housing where kids were living. One type was in a fancy neighborhood, a nice house. The other type of housing was not so great, dirty. When it comes to the marxist view of this situation while analyzing the show a few things come to mind. Political signification and the ideologies of different social classes are just a couple of those things. In this episode, a proper way to analyze this media would be to recognize how the creator has manipulated the episode. Did they want the person with less money to seem like the bad guy for the sake of the show? Or was it a reflection of his minds thoughts? Did he want us to think the bad guy was the one with less money? Marxists would analyze the way the media was manipulated to society.                                  Ideology is also a concept that coincides with a marxism media analysis. Some would argue that while exploring the media someones certain view has clouded the true facts of the media. It is very common for this to occur because of the collective unconscious of groups. A person may not even realize that they have fallen into this category. There could be plain and clear facts and they are completely disregarded. Overall, it is important to examine the media based on political and social views to truly create a well written media analysis. 

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. 

Marxism is the theory, named after Karl Marx, that basically tells us that people in the world are essentially put into different categories and classes based on their background and relationship to how things were made. That every person is put in the position that they are now due to their upbringing. There is the "working class", and they are the individuals that make a living working on farms or in factories. I believe you can define them as the lowest class. And then there are the "capitalists" who as some what above the working class but not by much. They are the ones that are owners of these farms and factories that the working class works on/in. Then last but not least, there is the ruling class. The "Donald Trumps" and "Bill Gates" of the world. The ruling class are the people that pretty much own and live off of the smaller classes. Marx states that there will always be a struggle between the rich and the poor, and with corporations vs the public. If you think about it, it all is actually very much true still to this day. It's very easy to break down media with marxism, actually. For starters, you know that every character in a movie, TV show or play represents a certain type of person. If you are picturing a blonde hair jock, who constantly has women all over him, what would you think of that person? That he is popular. Maybe even rich if you manage to get a glimpse of his car in a scene. You are basically digging deeper into the character and analyzing their life. I think Mean Girls would be a perfect (and popular) example of this theory. Especially when they describe the social classes within the school.

Blog Post 4 - Lindsay Rance

Marxism is a theory on society that originated in the mind of Carl Marx and this week, we learned how his original ideology is evident in popular media.
First, there's the idea that that knowledge is shared within the community. One person's idea is not their own, it belongs to everyone that is a member of the same society. However, if knowledge is shared as well values, who decides what's right or what's wrong? Marxism would tell you that the ruling class of the society are the ones who tell us what's right, what's wrong, what's important? So in today's modern society, the ruling class would be the ones who control the media, such as Disney or Time Warner. Another great example would be Rupert Murdoch, who has been accused of forcing his news stations to take conservative stances on political matters. This leads to some Marxists taking an extremely negative view on the media and the "control" that they have over our lives. The Fankfurt School, which became popular in the 1940s, has stated that the media is responsible for the working class being ignorant to the fact that they were being controlled by the ruling class. They also claimed that because of this "false consciousness," history did not play out correctly.
Marxism also plays out in advertising. John Berger, an English Marxists, proposed that we derive value of a person by the things they own. He states that advertising companies know this and they manipulate this to their favor. The modern advertisement doesn't necessarily promote the product but the lifestyle that comes with the purchase.
Hegemony is also an idea that derived from Marxism. It is where social values or commonplace practices serve one purpose, to keep the ruling class in power. If you watch any political show, it depicts the "American people" as a dimwitted society ignorant to the world around them. It also highlights the government as extremely powerful people who will do anything to get their way, even if it means killing people. This makes the viewer think that the government controls more than what they let on, and that we should be scared of them if we question their power.
However, this idea that the government is the ruling power is in a state of constant shift. The American people are using social media to put pressure on leaders to fix injustice and inequality, which means the government are slowly using their control. Whenever there is a shift in power, there is sure to be a shift in the common ideology.

Blog Post # 4

Marxism

Marxism can be described as the belief that the struggle between social classes is due to history and that there should be a society in which there are no classes. In marxism it theorizes that everything is shaped by the economic system of a society and this affects the ideas individuals have. According to Karl Marx this is something that was created by the people and can be changed by the people as well.There is false conscious that exists which is the idea that whatever the dominant group says is right. There are those who rule and those whom follow and this should not exist. Alienation is a consciousness that takes the form of ideology and dominants their consciousness. Marxism makes it clear that there is a spread of false consciousness by the mass media and this is what leads them to believe only in what it is said to be right. Ideology is something that has you, and appear to be unconscious. Someone can be shaped by ideology and not even notice it. 

Marxism criticism in media can be done without even realizing it or thinking about it too much. It is clear when in media whether it is in a movie, tv show, book, magazine, cartoon, etc., who is the dominant group and who is the group without power. Who is the group that is wealthy and those who are not wealthy and media does this with a purpose to use ideology with their viewers. While watching a movie, media does things that appear to be normal because that is what they make us, the viewers, believe so unconsciously. If in a movie there could be a character who is handsome and no matter what is wearing a suite, and we believe that this is normal because of the dominant position he holds but in reality this is not real. When criticizing media from a marxists view it is transparent when hegemony exists, that is when there's a dominant group ideology over others in other groups. Something that media also does is for example when watching news there might be a case where the status quo is being challenged and it is described as something abnormal there is always a reason for this. When mass media has you watching or catching your attention it is important to look at things from a marxism perspective and notice how society is being describes as.

Marxist Analysis

       Marxist criticism is focused on using the concept of the individual's position in a community and how that individual's ideology is in turn shaped by the social and economic conditions that are in place. Because the individual is part of a larger group, that group in turn plays a part in the choices that the person makes. In exploring the power structure that exists in the community in which a person lives it is possible to explain why that person  makes certain choices about how to live as a part of the group.
        In Marxist Criticism  there is the need to determine who is the dominant class or group ,and who seem to be the ones with little or no power, or are deemed the followers. When a text is examined it should clearly define who these are and what ideologies exist within these groups.
Any show that is being criticized should be examined for a message or theme that is usually not noticed at first  but which is sure to be included as a way of creating false consciousness among viewers. Since the media portrays many things in a way that will suit their agenda it is necessary to look for themes that are included as a way of reinforcing their own ideas , but which might not be factual or even close to the truth. The viewer should also examine the text for any underlying message that forces him or her to take a particular position on an issue. Since these shows are usually used as a way of reinforcing our own beliefs , it should be examined with the idea that there is a message included that somehow reflects what that person believes.
        An example of one of the ways that the media infiltrates our thoughts with ideas of their own can be seen in one of my favorite TV shows, "Bones." In this series the main characters are "Constance Brennan," a Forensic Anthropologist and "Booth" who is a detective. Other important characters include laboratory assistants, a medical examiner and a bone reconstruction specialist. Although everyone usually has to play a role in determining how bones which are found are are analyzed and reconstructed, it is Dr. Brennan's opinion that ultimately determines how and why each case gets solved. In this show there is the underlying message about the character of Dr. Brennan who is seen as the leader in terms of intellectual knowledge as is therefore classified in Marxist analysis as the hierarchical elitist in terms of her position of power, is characterized as the  person whose opinion is valued above ever other person with whom she works. This reinforces the idea of the intellectual superiority of someone  who has attained such a high status in an field of study that is usually quite specialized. Another  ideology that is that is reinforced is that of a woman who is far superior to those around her in terms of her analytical abilities, a theme that reflects how the mass media has now shifted their focus to portraying women as strong individuals.
           When using Marxist Analysis it is therefore important to notice which characters seem important and why, since by doing this it is possible to find the general themes that relate not only to the viewer and his ideas, but also to society in general.