Skip to main content

Capitalism, Marxism and art, oh my! Part I-Moving with Marx

In this set of two sessions on capitalism and Marxism you will be introduced to concepts such as 'surplus value,' 'capital and 'mode of production' and study their relevance and importance for critical analysis of visual cultural production (film, dance, art, etc).

This photo shows an sculpture of the head of Karl Marx. The head is on top of a granite base that reads 'Workers of all lands unite'. It is surrounded by winter trees in a cemetery in London.

This week we will examine concepts stemming from Marxist cultural analysis which include: surplus value, capital and means of production among others. We will study their relevance and importance for critical analysis of culture and cultural production (film, dance, art).

Task 6

Reading

Woodfin, R., Zarate, O. and Appignanesi, R. (2004) IntroducingMarxism. Cambridge: Totem Books.

Read pages 12-13, 30-69 of this text and complete the exercises below.

1

Marxist terminology

Match the following terms with their definitions according to Marx.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

It is important to understand how these terms function in cultural production.

Mode of production: The tools and equipment that produce the commodity

Surplus value: Excess value of a commodity

Exchange value: Monetary value that gets attached to a commodity

Use value: Practical function of the commodity; what it does

Capital: Money, value

Commodity: An object or thing which satisfies human needs

Check your answer

Viewing

Watch this extract of Disney's 1940 movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice (09:44) (opens in a new window) and complete the exercises below.

2

Identifying factors of the production process

Match the factors in the production process with specific characters or objects in the film.

a)
b)
c)

Labourer: Mickey (although he tries to make the broom the laborer)

Commodity: The Sorcerer's hat

Owner of the means of production: The Sorcerer

If you still have trouble understanding the function of laborer, commodity, means of production think back to the content of the lecture and my analogy with your marks and University.

Check your answer

Analysis

3

Practices and modes of production

Think about dance and film making practices and modes of production and take notes to complete this table.

Factors Dance Film
Factory
Labourers
Modes of production
Surplus value


Your notes could be something like these.

Factors Dance Film
Factory dance school film studio
Labourers dancers, choreographers, teachers crew, actors, directors
Modes of production rehearsals, performances shooting, film
distribution/marketing
Surplus value virtuosity, technical skill celebrity capital, profit
of film, branding, popular cultural references, cultural
capital


Check your answer