Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

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?
Capital features a left-wing ideology as it features an ensemble cast. The white upper class are represented as greedy and selfish. This is due to having a lot of money. Whereas the immigrants are presented as helpful and dedicated. These representations support left-wing ideology as they portray a positive image regarding the issues of immigration. 

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?

'The last 20 minutes contained no plot'. I also believe the narrative went completely off board as they was no meaning relationship the story arc.

'The police were clueless, but they still got to the bottom of it'. I agree with this criticism since the police gave no interpretation of what was going therefore, left the audience clueless throughout the investigation.

"The hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant, determined to pay her way and not touch a penny of benefits" I strongly agree that this criticises capital and London itself since immigrants are shown to be more contributed to London than the British citizens who live in London. The traffic warden works morning to evening just to earn a living and live a peaceful life a part of the community. 

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
One scene that promotes left-wing ideology is the Pakistani family giving the British white family coriander for free. This depicts that not all Muslims are terrorists and have evil morals in life. However, they are shown to be kind-hearted and welcoming. 

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?
A point where capital reinforces the status quo in capitalist London is that the people who work hard and passionate in what they wanna do in life, strive forward among everyone else living in that same society. This is seen through the character Roger who works incredibly hard to satisfy is wife and kids.


Media Magazine feature on BBC drama The Casual Vacancy and ideology

Now go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature 'The Beeb, The Mail and JKR' in MM53 (page 20). This focuses on the politics of The Casual Vacancy, another BBC three-part drama based on a book by JK Rowling.

 


Answer the questions below:

1) Why did the Daily Mail suggest The Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology?
The daily mail suggests that the Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology since it claims that it dominates the narrative. The daily mail disagree on the criticism of the reviews from the Casual Vacancy, instead they believe it supports the conservative view  that food banks, rehab centres and a larger state do little to foster personal responsibility.

2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?
The characters promote a left wing since they are shown to be caring and equal when sharing wealth. The narrative is constructed through the decisions that these characters make such selling of the local food bank. 


3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?
Christopher Stevens argued that the BBC is rushing to screen Tory-bashing shows like  The Casual Vacancy  because very soon we’ll be in the countdown to a General Election, when the Corporation must remain neutral, fair and balanced. He refers to the period known as Purdah, after the dissolution of Parliament  when politicians must not refer to themselves as MPs, are locked out of their offices, and broadcasters must follow special stricter rules about their programming, being careful to give equal air time to the views of all major parties.

4) Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggests people are kept under control through active consent - the control of 'common sense'. How could you apply the Daily Mail or the BBC to the idea of hegemony and dominant ideologies in the UK media?
The BBC are not really biased they support many organisations and they feature many TV programmes.Daily Mail is more right-wing as they shame immigrants and different cultures within the UK however, whenever it is someone that is a White British they get praised.