painted things that appealed to him rather then what others wanted him to.By keeping the status quo, the capitalist economic system stays in motion. “American Capitalism finds its sharpest and most expressive reflection in American cinema.” (Marxist Overtones 1; cited from Eisenstein’s Film Form)There are many things that could explain why the upper class’s perspective was disseminated upon the masses. First off, it takes money to run a medium. Since they have the most money, they have the luxury of running the media. Also, with money comes education. Not only were the lower classes poor in comparison, but they were also less educated. Because of their underprivileged status, they were very susceptible to being manipulated. They lacked the knowledge to think for themselves, so they bought in to the status quo that was generated by the upper class. Economism, or vulgar Marxism, is a key feature in explaining the media’s role according to Marx. This is also referred to as the base/superstructure model. In economism, “the economic base of society is seen as determining everything else in the superstructure, including social, political, and intellectual consciousness.” (Marxist Media Theory 1) This maintains that the media is used as the base of society. Society is referred to as the superstructure. Clearly, media shapes society even today. Since consumers rely on the media for information and entertainment, (ex. Television and radio new, magazines, newspapers, Internet), they are shaped by whatever forms of media they chose to be an audience to. The media manipulates everything from popular fashion to the food people consume.Media can also be seen as a means of production according to the Marxist school of thought. It simply disseminates the ideas of the ruling class and defuses any alternatives. This creates a perception of popular culture that is really only based on one grou...
