Marx & the Media

COM 327January 21, 2014

QUIZ!!

1. According to Fuchs, which corporation (perhaps knowingly) sold technology to the Nazis that was used in the Holocaust?

a) Nintendob) Applec) IBM d) Samsung

2. Which industry, which went through catastrophic upheavals in the 19th century, is Engels (via Fuchs) referring to here?

“In no branch of English industry has mechanical ingenuity produced such brilliant results as here, but in no other has it so crushed the workers”

a) the pressb) the railroadc) textilesd) videogames

3. Speaking to the state of today’s media industries, Fuchs writes:

“Media content capital and media distribution capital tend to________.” (p. 386)

a) convergeb) disappearc) fightd) win

4. As Fuchs describes, Louis Althusser (a Marxist scholar) called ________ a “system of the ideas and representations which dominate the mind of a man or a social group”.

a) religionb) ideologyc) pro sports d) Communism

BONUS.What are the “bilateral polar opposites” that Fuchs references in the conclusion, with regards to media commodities?

a) Communism and capitalismb) use value and exchange valuec) joy and paind) workers and owners

Plan

• Group presentation!• Why Marxism?• Central tenets of

Marx’s theory• Marx & the media:

“Political economy” of communication

Reading Marx today

• “Marxian” vs “Marxist”– Any analysis of economics & society that takes class

into consideration VS– specific political project to disrupt/critique

contemporary capitalism– Reading Marx does not make you Marxist!

• Based his ideas on contemporary observations & historical analysis– Journalist writing on behalf of workers’ movements– Studied history of capitalism

Reading Marx today

• Historical roots– Large & growing rift between capitalists (“those

who owned means of production”) and workers– Overpopulation in industrial ctrs (London, NY,

Chicago)– Brutal working conditions in factories– Technology developed in support of industry:

automation, increased speed of transportation

Marxian theories#1: Class Struggle

Capitalist society is defined by the struggle for power between the ruling elite and the lower (and middle) classes

Those who own the means of production vs those who work

The Luddite movement: early hackers?

“alienated labor”The average worker does not own the fruits of their work

“Labor produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity”

“Main Street vs Wall Street”

99%

“affluenza”

Marxian theories#2: Commodity Fetishism

What’s a fetish?

Commodity fetishism: 1. Goods are put on the market; disassociated from the context they

were produced in2. We use an artificial means of exchange – money – to pay for the goods3. The social relationship between people is perceived instead as an

economic transaction between objects ($$ and the thing we bought)

Commodity fetishism: 1. Goods are put on the market; disassociated from the context they

were produced in2. We use an artificial means of exchange – money – to pay for the goods3. Thesocial relationship between people is perceived instead as an

economic transaction between objects ($$ and the thing we bought)

Marxian theories#3: Capitalism must expand

Capitalism is characterized by growth:- More capital (more money)- More stuff (commodities) - More concentration (not competition)- Greater divide between rich & poor

Marxian theories#4: Ideology

Fuchs, p. 389:“For Marx, ideology is the expression of dominant class interests and the attempt to control the dominated…

…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.”

Ideology at work…

Ideology explains, for Marx, why people don’t lose their sh*t and overthrow capitalism

What is a “political economy of media”?

1. Emphasis on media ownership

2. Role of the press

3. The relationship of media to democracy

4. Concerns over advertising

5. Portrayal of ordinary people as relatively powerless

Emphasis on media ownership

Role of the press

“the corporate media have the additional advantage of controlling the very news media that would be the place citizens would expect to find criticism and discussion of media policy in a free society.” (McChesney)

Relationship of media to democracy

Spot the commodity!

Concerns over advertising

“Advertising & the end of the world”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8gM0Q58iP

4:00 to 16:00 (watch remaining 4 mins on Thurs)

Why is advertising so crucial to capitalism? What is capitalism’s major concern?What is the “right question” to ask in regards to advertising?What does Jhally mean by “consistent stories”?

Portrayal of ordinary people as relatively powerless

“dupes”

“false consciousness”

“consciousness industry”

Next class: the first critique of “the culture industry”