Essay Assignment: Marxist Analysis Paper

Select a popular movie from the last five years. Write an approximately three-page, double-spaced analysis of the movie using the Marxist principles and tools identified in class.

Things to consider: Does the movie show a false consciousness being created? What ideology is being enacted by the characters? Is there any class conflict? Does the movie show the alienation of workers? Does the movie illustrate consumption and materialism? Who are the Bourgeois heroes of the movie? Explain how the movie helps the Bourgeois create hegemony.

Here is a sample of the organizational structure of a paper:

A. Introduction: What, Why, How …

1. Briefly describe the topic/ media artifact.
2. Explain why the particular media is significant to your reader.
3. Tell your audience how you will provide evidence or demonstrate an analysis of the media artifact—preview the points of the paper. Discuss at least three concepts/tools from the Marxist Criticism chapter.

B. Body of evidence: Describe the media artifact and explain what the audience should notice.

1. Provide a brief, denotative description of what the movie is about.
2. Develop the analysis. Identify a concept important to understanding the movie through a Marxist lense. Then give examples of at least two scenes that show the concept—for example, if you are showing alienation of workers, you’ll need to describe two scenes that illustrate this concept.
3. Move on to the next concept. Write several paragraphs about it, following the instructions in B2. Make sure you are using the language of Marxist criticism.
4. Move on to the third concept. Write several paragraphs about it—being sure to include multiple scenes. Give quotes or a detailed explanation of the scenes to support your argument.
5. Explain how these examples work together to create an overall effect.

C. Conclusion: State how your analysis provides new insight about the media subject:

1. Remind the audience why the media is important (as stated in your introduction).
2. Review your points
3. Finally, explain how your analysis provides new insight, reveals assumptions, or unintended meanings represented by the selected media.