Representation
The
role of media a Marxist perspective.
You will watch a clip
(London Olympics) and analyse it with consideration given to the representation of Britain
- Key words: False consciousness. cultural hegemony, false needs.
Capitalism. A definition:
An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by a state run by the people.
Marxism. A definition:
The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.
While Karl Marx only knew the press before it was a mass medium, it is still possible to analyse modern media according to his ideas even though Marxism is widely thought to have failed as a guide to social change.
The media as an industry conforms to a general capitalist type through its factors of production.
These are likely to be in the monopolistic ownership of the capital owning class and be organised to serve the interest of that class. This is done through the exploitation of workers (ignoring the true value of labour) and consumers (making excess profits).
The Wire - McNuggets:
(A clip about the exploitation of workers).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvq3Pf3j61c
Media works ideologically by disseminating the ideas and world views of the ruling class, denying access to alternative ideas that might lead to change or to a growing consciousness of the working classes with regards to its interests.
The main contribution of the media is to stimulate and then satisfy false needs. This leads to the assimilation of groups who have no real material interest in common into a 'one dimensional' society.
Marxist theory of media:
Task 1:
Bearing in mind the Marxist theory of media;
Watch the video clip below and analyse with consideration given to the representation of Britain (National Identity).
List the visual codes, Audio codes and geographical markers.
Write 200 words describing what the opening ceremony is saying about being British. What would other nationalities think about this?
Remember: Denotation - Connotation - Signification.
Intertextuality definition:
An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by a state run by the people.
Marxism. A definition:
The political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society's allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.
While Karl Marx only knew the press before it was a mass medium, it is still possible to analyse modern media according to his ideas even though Marxism is widely thought to have failed as a guide to social change.
The media as an industry conforms to a general capitalist type through its factors of production.
These are likely to be in the monopolistic ownership of the capital owning class and be organised to serve the interest of that class. This is done through the exploitation of workers (ignoring the true value of labour) and consumers (making excess profits).
The Wire - McNuggets:
(A clip about the exploitation of workers).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvq3Pf3j61c
Media works ideologically by disseminating the ideas and world views of the ruling class, denying access to alternative ideas that might lead to change or to a growing consciousness of the working classes with regards to its interests.
The main contribution of the media is to stimulate and then satisfy false needs. This leads to the assimilation of groups who have no real material interest in common into a 'one dimensional' society.
False consciousness
1.
A Marxist theory that people are unable to see things, especially
exploitation, oppression, and social relations, as they really are; the
inability of the human mind to develop a sophisticated awareness of how it is developed and shaped by circumstances.
2.
Any belief or view that prevents a person from being able to understand
the true nature of a situation.
Marxist theory of media:
- Mass media is owned by the bourgeois class
- Media is operated in their interest
- Media promotes working class false consciousness
- Media access denied to political opposition.
Cultural hegemony
In Marxist philosophy, the term Cultural hegemony describes the domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class, who manipulate the culture of that society — the beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values, and mores— so that their ruling-class worldview becomes the worldview that is imposed and accepted as the cultural norm; as the universally valid dominant ideology that justifies the social, political, and economic status quo as natural, inevitable, perpetual and beneficial for everyone, rather than as artificial social constructs that benefit only the ruling class.
Bearing in mind the Marxist theory of media;
Watch the video clip below and analyse with consideration given to the representation of Britain (National Identity).
List the visual codes, Audio codes and geographical markers.
Write 200 words describing what the opening ceremony is saying about being British. What would other nationalities think about this?
Remember: Denotation - Connotation - Signification.
Intertextuality definition:
Relating to or deriving meaning from the interdependent ways in which texts stand in relation to each other.
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Some additional clips for comparison:
BBC 1 News
Fox News
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