Marxist Criticism

An Introduction
Marxist Critics
Apply the economic/social principles and ideas
of Karl Marx to film and the film industry.
Believe that society is based on a dialectic (or
conflict) between employers (capital) and
employees (labor). The ruling class and
workers struggle for economic power.
Believe that the values of capitalism, such as
the primacy of profit and consumerism, infuse
all aspects of our society.
Marxist Critics
See the individual as a product of
society’s value system (The
individual is constructed by class
and society.)
Emphasize the role of class and
labor as they analyze films.
Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Society
The beliefs, attitudes, and values of a
society form an ideological base which
influences the superstructure of a
society, its laws, politics, religion,
education, art, literature, film, urban
development, etc.
The ideological base influences the
economic base of society, the way the
society produces materials, the
economic organization of a group:
capitalism, socialism, barter and trade.
Base and Superstructure

Superstructure
laws, politics,
religion,
education, art,
philosophy, and
ethics

Base Ideology:
system of beliefs,
attitudes, and values
Capitalism
Capitalism is the ideological base
of the United States and much of
Western culture.
Discussion: What are the values
and beliefs of capitalism?
Exploitation
One tenet of capitalism is
exploitation.
Discussion: How might employers
exploit their employees?
Exploitation
Employees/owners make money (or
profit) by paying employee/workers less
than the value of their production.
For example, an employee makes 100
mechanical pencils an hour that are
worth $1 a piece on the market, but
rather than pay the employee
$100/hour, the employer pays the
employee $6.75/hour for a profit of
$93.25 (minus fixed costs, such as raw
materials, and taxes).
Norma Rae (1979)
Germinal (1993)
Exploitation continued . . .
Profit: driving force of capitalism;
private investment and control of profit;
money left over after fixed costs and
labor costs; many make product (and
earn wage); only one makes profit (net
proceeds)
Profit loss: Market saturation, lower
demand for product, raise in fixed
costs, raise in labor costs, a change in
supply and demand can all “eat into”
the profit.
To further increase profits
Employers exploit their employees by
Speeding up work
Lowering wages
Creating dangerous working conditions
Not allowing labor a voice (unions)
Laying off/downsizing workforce
Providing shorter breaks
Driving workers with hard labor
Roger and Me (1989)
Harlan County, USA (1976)
Exploitation leads to Alienation

Alienation: a withdrawing or
separation of a person or a
person's affections from an object
or position of former attachment
(Merriam-Webster Online)
Discussion: From whom or what
might workers feel alienated from?
Employees feel alienated . . .
From product: soul not in it; not sure
what product is; no sense of
“ownership” or pride in work
From self: drug addiction; insanity;
lower self-esteem; loss of identity; just
a number
From others: other employees;
employers; family
From time: 9-5; watch the clock; no
rest or relax; clock in and out
Salesman (1969)
Marxist critics may also analyze . . .

Marginalization of lower classes

(placed at edge of society socially,
economically, and politically)
Violence between the classes
Dehumanization of the lower
classes
How all the above is tied to race
and racism
How to . . .
Look for evidence of how the values of
capitalism influence the characters and society
are represented in a film.
Analyze the conflict between labor and capital
in a film.
Analyze the effects of capitalism in the film.
Focus on working conditions of workers as
represented in a film.
Analyze exploitation of worker as represented
in a film.
Note instances of alienation in a film
Note the marginalization of lower classes . .
Key Terms
Capitalism: the economic ideological base which values
private ownership and profit for individuals
Labor: employees, workers
Capital: employers, owners, major investors
Base: beliefs, attitudes, and values of a society
Superstructure: laws, politics, education . . . which
reflect the base
Exploitation: the difference between the value of
production and what a worker is paid by the owner
Alienation: the results of capitalism on the worker; the
separation between the worker and others due to
exploitation on the job.
Marginalization: placing lower classes and people of
color on edges of society socially, economically, and
politically
Resources
Fish, Tom. Marxist Criticism. The Literary Criticism Web.
Cumberland College. 23 June 1999. 15 Apr. 2004
<http://cc.cumberland college.edu/acad/english/
litcritweb/theory/marxism.htm>.
Giannetti, Louis. Understanding the Movies. 11th ed. New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
Henderson, Greig and Christopher Brown. “Marxist
Criticism.” Glossary of Literary Theory. U of Toronto. 31
Mar. 1997. 15 Apr. 2004. <http://

www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary/Marxist_criticism.
html>.
Lynn, Steven. Texts and Contexts. New York:
HaperCollins, 1994.
Prince, Stephen. Movies and Meaning. 2nd ed. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon, 2001.