2. A2MediaStudies@KKS
Marxism is based on the writings of 19th
Century philosopher and social activist Karl
Marx. His writings were a response to the extremes of poverty and exploitation he
witnessed in the years after the British Industrial Revolution. His most famous book
Das Kapital (1867) argued that in a capitalist society the most important and
fundamentally antagonistic divisions are along class lines and that there are two
fundamental classes:
The Proletariat – Workers who have to sell their labour to survive
The Bourgeoisie – The ruling class, own the means of production (i.e Factories),
property or wealth
Marx argued that in capitalist systems the bourgeoisie dominates and exploits the
proletariat in pursuit of profit. He also suggested that ideology, values and beliefs are
important in persuading the proletariat to accept the power of the bourgeoisie.
Marxism is subject to a wide variety of interpretations but essentially has the notion
of class struggle as its core tenet
MARXISM
3. A2MediaStudies@KKS
MARXISM&MASS MEDIA
Marx’s ideas have been applied to the
media in contemporary society to
suggest that the world constructed in
most mainstream media contributes to
persuading the proletariat to accept
capitalism as natural and inevitable,
whilst simultaneously distracting them
from complaining about exploitation.
(Source: AQA Textbook)
“Therulingideas of eachagehaveever
beentheideas of its rulingclass”
TheCommunist Manifesto (1848)
4. A2MediaStudies@KKS
HEGEMONYHEGEMONY
Antonio Gramsci was a leading Italian Marxist however he disagreed with the Marxist
view of how the ruling class maintained their status and power. He considered why given
the inequality of capitalism the Proletariat did not simply rise up and revolt. He came up
with the concept of Hegemony (or more specifically ‘Cultural Hegemony’)to describe
how the ruling class dominate other classes by manipulating the culture of a
society in order to present their view as being “common sense” or just “the
way things are”. The ruling class cannot rule by force alone and rely on the ‘consent’
of the proletariat. So rather than question a system that clearly does not benefit them
they are convinced that the dominant ideology is the only ideology. This is sometimes
referred to as “Ruling by Consent”
In other words, hegemony is the process
for which the ruling classes enforce
dominant ideologies on the proletariat.
5. A2MediaStudies@KKS
Can you think of any examples
of dominant ideologies that we
are encouraged to believe
relating to the following?
Ethnicity, Age, Gender, Nationality, Class, Religion, Family,
Politics
6. A2MediaStudies@KKS
Some dominant ideologies
Patriotism. To love, support and
protect one’s country and its
people.
Marriage and family. The “right
way” to live is to marry an
opposite-sex partner and have
children.
Capitalism. The production of
capital and consumption of surplus
value as a life goal.
Male superiority. Men are
more suited to positions of
power, and more suited to
decision-making at work and at
home.
7. A2MediaStudies@KKS
Applying Marx to the mass media today
When Marxists apply this ideology
to the mass media they will argue:
The institutions of the mass media are
owned by the ruling classes (e.g.
Rupert Murdoch, Richard Branson)
These institutions are used to
indoctrinate the masses into
believing capitalism is good for all
Media industry workers are exploited
just as other workers
…therefore the mass media exists to
serve the ideological interests of
the ruling class.
8. A2MediaStudies@KKS
“Anydominant ideologyinany
societypresents itself as theideology
of that societyas awhole. Its workis
to denythelegitimacyof alternative
andoppositional ideologies”Dyer
(1979)
It should be noted that ideology is not necessarily a fixed
set of ideas and is in a constant state of flux – its
common goal however remains the same; to maintain
the status quo of the dominant class.
9. A2MediaStudies@KKS
CRITICISMSCRITICISMS
The problem with both Marx and Gramsci’s theories when applied to the
media is that they assume audiences are passive and easily manipulated.
Stuart Hall (1980), argued that the dominant ideology is typically
inscribed as the 'preferred reading' in a media text, but that this is not
automatically adopted by readers. The social situations of
readers/viewers/listeners may lead them to adopt different stances.
'Dominant' readings are produced by those whose social situation
favours the preferred reading; 'negotiated' readings are produced by
those who inflect the preferred reading to take account of their social
position; and 'oppositional' readings are produced by those whose
social position puts them into direct conflict with the preferred reading.
Key note! Use this to challenge Stuart Hall’s
reception theory
10. A2MediaStudies@KKS
The Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) suggests that
media content does support the interests of those who run the capitalist
system. However, this is an unintended by-product of the social
backgrounds of journalists and broadcasters rather than a conscious
capitalist conspiracy. The GUMG points out that most journalists working
for national newspapers, television and radio tend to be overwhelmingly
male, White, and middle class, e.g. 54% are privately educated. (source)
This is a bit of a
chicken and egg
scenario!
11. A2MediaStudies@KKS
The term “Ruling by consent” was used by John Pilger at the start
of his documentary “The War You Don’t See”. We know from
watching this that the mainstream media in the UK and USA
chose not to print or broadcast anything that ran contrary to the
‘war agenda’ that the governments of both countries were
pursing. Even though there was strong evidence that the public
were being mislead. This is what Chomsky (1992) refers to as
‘manufacturing consent’. In other words information is ‘filtered’
through the media therefore influencing audience’s ideas and
thoughts. Chomsky does not suggest that this is done deliberately
or conspiratorially but is done through a media institutions own
censorship of what is included in media texts. This filtering is
often based on the institutions need for profit and to appeal to
consumers
MANUFACTURINGMANUFACTURINGCONSENTCONSENT
12. A2MediaStudies@KKS
Still with me?
Marxism and Hegemony are broad concepts that encompass a wide range
of political, social, economic and cultural issues – and both pre-date modern
media as we know it by quite some time. Essentially we are interested in
how the terms can be used in relation to contemporary media. Read
through the Case Study on pg 51 of your textbook for some examples.
Marxism focuses on relationships based on social class; however the
concept of hegemony can also be applied to the power relations found in
gender, sexuality and race.
Consider the representations of gay characters, women and other
races/ethnicities in the media. Can you think of any examples of
how the dominant ideology is enforced? (a useful starting point
could be looking at how women are represented in advertising)
Can you link this to our case study looking at
moral panics? Or IS?
Editor's Notes
Does this refute or reinforce the notion of hegemony? Why are more journalists not from other backgrounds?
