Marxism In The Media Essay Research Paper

Marxism In The Media Essay, Research Paper

Holy Smokes, Kids! It’s Marxism in the Media!!

Sandra Carter

Media Theory and Criticism

March 29, 2001

“To my distress and perhaps to my delight, I order things in accordance with my passions. I put in my pictures everything I like. So much worse for the things—they have to get along with one another.”

–Pablo Picasso

(Berman 1)

The above quote raises some interesting questions one must consider about the mass media. What decides which messages the media portrays to the consumer. What must a medium contain that makes us want to watch it. Maybe the artists just make what interests them. Or perhaps the messages are simply used for entertainment and are based on what sells or what is popular. This is true to an extent but this is merely a scratch in the surface of these burning questions. There are many theories that seek to explain the purpose of the mass media, but this paper will discuss Marxist media theory. This paper will get past the surface and discuss the goals and purpose of the media in Marx’s opinion.

In its truest form, Marxism is a humanistic group of thoughts and ideas that states that everyone should have equally productive lives. It strives to dismantle the class struggle between the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat. Marx believes in a humanistic ideology that parallels the thought that everyone is created equal.

Marxist theorists conceive that one important role of the media is to reproduce the status quo. Simply stated the media is said to perpetuate norms. Like previously stated, a class struggle exists between the upper and lower classes and it is quite evident. The upper class had a stronghold on the media because they had the most money. Therefore, they were able to control what everyone thought was the desired lifestyle and culture norms. They used the media to convince the other classes that what the upper class enjoyed should be what is desirable. This is in a way similar to Picasso’s quote. He painted things that appealed to him rather then what others wanted him to.

By keeping the status quo, the capitalist economic system stays in motion. “American Capitalism finds its sharpest and most expressive reflection in American cinema.” (Marxist Overtones 1; cited from Eisenstein’s Film Form)

There are many things that could explain why the upper class’s perspective was disseminated upon the masses. First off, it takes money to run a medium. Since they have the most money, they have the luxury of running the media. Also, with money comes education. Not only were the lower classes poor in comparison, but they were also less educated. Because of their underprivileged status, they were very susceptible to being manipulated. They lacked the knowledge to think for themselves, so they bought in to the status quo that was generated by the upper class.

Economism, or vulgar Marxism, is a key feature in explaining the media’s role according to Marx. This is also referred to as the base/superstructure model. In economism, “the economic base of society is seen as determining everything else in the superstructure, including social, political, and intellectual consciousness.” (Marxist Media Theory 1) This maintains that the media is used as the base of society. Society is referred to as the superstructure. Clearly, media shapes society even today. Since consumers rely on the media for information and entertainment, (ex. Television and radio new, magazines, newspapers, Internet), they are shaped by whatever forms of media they chose to be an audience to. The media manipulates everything from popular fashion to the food people consume.

Media can also be seen as a means of production according to the Marxist school of thought. It simply disseminates the ideas of the ruling class and defuses any alternatives. This creates a perception of popular culture that is really only based on one group’s opinion.

“The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it.” (Marx and Engels 22)

This quote states basically that the media will manipulate those who lack the ability to think for themselves on certain issues. This is true because the media gatekeeper is in control of what information is presented in the various forms. Also, the mass media produces false consciousness in the working classes. This leads to monolithic expressions of ruling class values being perpetuated while ignoring any deviation of said ideas.

“The mass media still perform their job of distracting people from the realities of U.S. society and of “clouding their minds” with ideas that the ruling class wishes them to have.” (Berger 45)

Another of Marx’s theories is that mass media acts as an amplifier. This means that media institutions are locked into the power structure, thereby acting in tandem with the dominant institutions in society. This reproduces society’s viewpoints not as one idea among many, but rather as the central or natural perspective. The media also has a tendency to the unpopular and unconventional and draw on the values that are most widely legitimated. Portrayals of violence in the media have often been appro

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