Marxist Analysis

I find it interesting when being introduced to Marxism of how this concept is still visible in today’s society. In the reading Introduction: Starting with Zero by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, they talk about Shakespeare writing his plays just to humor the king and queen. Because after all, “Shakespeare could not have expressed counter-monarchial ideas and still been “Shakespeare,”” meaning that he would not have been hired by the king and queen if he did not promote their point of views in his so-called form of entertainment. And good thing he did follow the rules because at the end, his plays were not only entertaining but also garnered a lot attention. This was a good thing since it helped people remember their place in life, and not in a bad way since these characters were likeable and in a sense made people satisfied with the way they lived, “the lower-class characters, though likeable and comic or the most part, seem to deserve their lower-class status.” This concept can still be seen in today’s form of entertainment, where millions will watch television about the rich and famous (in their own aristocratic), and still be content with other characters on television. The other characters as discussed in an article found on The Museum of Broadcast Communications entitled Social Class and Television by Richard Butsch states about the differences in characters, “In middle-class domestic situation comedies the male buffoon is a rarity. When a character plays the fool it is the dizzy wife, like Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy. In most middle-class series, however, both parents are mature, sensible, and competent, especially when there are children in the series.” This quick view shows how television makes it comfortable to see how at the same time it is ok to laugh at the characters on television. We as an audience are saying that it is okay to laugh at ourselves.

Works Cited

“Butsch, Richard.” SOCIAL CLASS AND TELEVISION. Web. 1992. 17 May 2010.

Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Maichael. “Introduction: Starting with Zero.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Victoria, Aus. Blackwell Publishing, 1998. Print. 643-646