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?
The review of Capital suggests that it features a left-wing ideology because it shows how the hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant. This shows Capitalism-hard work and shows a positive view of immigrants, therefore makes the audience feel sympathetic towards them. They also mention other people like a Muslim man and a crusading lawyer.
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?
"With a fizzle like a firework on a wet night, Capital (BBC1) dribbled to a soggy ending." I agree with this. Even though I think that Capital has contemporary representations of people in society, the storyline wasn't really clear and didn't really have a clear ending.
"The last 20 minutes contained no plot." I agree to a large extent with this quote because the ending was just a waste of time and there was nothing going on that related to the narrative.
"Capital started with an intriguing idea....'We want what you have'..But that concept went nowhere."- I agree to a large extent with this view because the idea started off by luring the audience in, especially with the postcards, however there was no feeling of finality or resolution by the end, so the plot was lost.
3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
- Quentina, the immigrant but hard working.
- The Kamal family, working class and happy family even though not rich.
- Roger's family, upper class/rich shown to be ignorant and snobby.
- Quentina getting caught by the police, however she hires a crusading lawyer to help her.
4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?
- Roger was a victim of helping his company gain a massive turnover but only received minimal profits. This links back to workers not being fairly paid.
- Quentina was a hard working illegal immigrant who was exploited and unfairly paid for her work. This makes the audience feel sympathetic due to her being strong willed and determined to pay her way like the rest of society.
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 suggested that The Casual Vacancy promoted a left wing ideology because it ridiculed the wealthier residents and shamed them for their plot to sell off the local food bank and rehab centre Sweetlove House.
2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?
The article suggests that characters, narrative and setting are used to promote left wing ideology because certain characters like Barry Fairbrother show their disgust towards the place closing down and gives off his opinion through speeches.
3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?
The research which is quoted regarding BBC bias is "Is the BBC too cosy with J.K.Rowling"
The BBC could be seen as biased to an extent because they delayed programmes such as The Apprentice for the election.
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 daily mail and the BBC link to the dominant ideologies because the daily mail supports more right wing ideologies to do with the elite and the conservative party and take the approach that if you work hard you will achieve. Also the idea that the daily mail put across is that they against the left wing approaches by presenting us stories that conflict the idea of community and this changes the way people perceive things. However it can also be argued that the BBC is impartial in the way things are presented as they may convey a notably civilised impression in the media by presenting news that is international and there is presentation of minority social groups but there is also a limit of critical discussions against some matters in the media.
1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?
The review of Capital suggests that it features a left-wing ideology because it shows how the hardest worker on the street was an illegal immigrant. This shows Capitalism-hard work and shows a positive view of immigrants, therefore makes the audience feel sympathetic towards them. They also mention other people like a Muslim man and a crusading lawyer.
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?
"With a fizzle like a firework on a wet night, Capital (BBC1) dribbled to a soggy ending." I agree with this. Even though I think that Capital has contemporary representations of people in society, the storyline wasn't really clear and didn't really have a clear ending.
"The last 20 minutes contained no plot." I agree to a large extent with this quote because the ending was just a waste of time and there was nothing going on that related to the narrative.
"Capital started with an intriguing idea....'We want what you have'..But that concept went nowhere."- I agree to a large extent with this view because the idea started off by luring the audience in, especially with the postcards, however there was no feeling of finality or resolution by the end, so the plot was lost.
3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
- Quentina, the immigrant but hard working.
- The Kamal family, working class and happy family even though not rich.
- Roger's family, upper class/rich shown to be ignorant and snobby.
- Quentina getting caught by the police, however she hires a crusading lawyer to help her.
4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?
- Roger was a victim of helping his company gain a massive turnover but only received minimal profits. This links back to workers not being fairly paid.
- Quentina was a hard working illegal immigrant who was exploited and unfairly paid for her work. This makes the audience feel sympathetic due to her being strong willed and determined to pay her way like the rest of society.
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 suggested that The Casual Vacancy promoted a left wing ideology because it ridiculed the wealthier residents and shamed them for their plot to sell off the local food bank and rehab centre Sweetlove House.
2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?
The article suggests that characters, narrative and setting are used to promote left wing ideology because certain characters like Barry Fairbrother show their disgust towards the place closing down and gives off his opinion through speeches.
3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?
The research which is quoted regarding BBC bias is "Is the BBC too cosy with J.K.Rowling"
The BBC could be seen as biased to an extent because they delayed programmes such as The Apprentice for the election.
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 daily mail and the BBC link to the dominant ideologies because the daily mail supports more right wing ideologies to do with the elite and the conservative party and take the approach that if you work hard you will achieve. Also the idea that the daily mail put across is that they against the left wing approaches by presenting us stories that conflict the idea of community and this changes the way people perceive things. However it can also be argued that the BBC is impartial in the way things are presented as they may convey a notably civilised impression in the media by presenting news that is international and there is presentation of minority social groups but there is also a limit of critical discussions against some matters in the media.
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