Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital


1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?

The Capital review suggests it is left-wing because it: focuses on inequality and wealth gaps

2) Choose three quotes from the review that are particularly critical of Capital and paste them into your blogpost. Do you agree with the criticisms? Why?

“a heavy-handed piece of left-wing propaganda”, “cartoonish portrayal of the rich”, “predictable and one-sided view of London". I partly agree because it does clearly show inequality and may be biased.

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?

The Polish builder shows struggles of low-paid workers, the refugee storyline highlights sympathy for migrants, the greedy banker characters show the rich as selfish. These all suggest criticism of capitalism and support more left-wing ideas.

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce right-wing or capitalist viewpoints?

Yes there are some. Some rich characters are successful because of hard work. Owning a house is shown as important. London is shown as full of opportunities.

Task 2: Media Factsheet - Applying Marxism 

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #66: Applying Marxism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level or online here (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access). Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does Marxism suggest regarding power in society?

Marxism says the rich and powerful people control society. The working class have less power.


2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?

The Apprentice shows that business and money are important. It supports capitalism and success.

3) Come up with two examples of media texts (e.g. TV programmes, newspapers etc.) that either fetishise working class life (e.g. EastEnders presents quite a harmonious East End community which probably doesn't accurately reflect East London life) or demonise working class life or poor people (e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers regularly demonise people living on benefits with headlines referring to 'scroungers'.) Explain what meanings these texts communicate to their audiences.

EastEnders shows working-class life as friendly and close. This can make it seem better than it really is.

The Daily Mail often shows poor people as lazy. This gives a negative image of the working class.


4) Look at the bullet points on page 4 of the factsheet:

When making a Marxist reading of a text, look out for representations that:
  • show the values of the power elite as beneficial to the mass
  • show queries or challenges to the base as meaningless, foolish or anti-social via ‘failed revolt’
  • show the subdominant position of the masses as a naturalised idea
  • show the values of the power elite as ‘natural’ or ‘right’
  • show that being a member of the mass is a good thing
  • show the masses accepting the values of the power elite
  • show the values of the power elite as being ‘for the good of the masses’ (even when unpleasant)
Now try applying those bullet points to Capital. Think about the setting, characters and narrative strands - how many of the bullet points apply to Capital? Does Capital reinforce or challenge the values of capitalism? Give examples from episode 1 to support your points.

Capital shows inequality between rich and poor people. It makes the audience feel sympathy for poorer characters. It also shows that rich people have more power. However, it still shows that money and houses are important. Overall, the show mostly challenges capitalism but still includes some of its ideas.

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