Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?
It suggests that there's a Left-wing Ideology due to how positively all the minorities are presented. Also the suggestion that British people are being put down by the series as he claims "Everything British came in for a dose of loathing"


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"
"The last 20 minutes contained no plot."
"Honestly, you’ll get rid of your family after Christmas faster than this feeble drama departed."

Personally I don't quite agree with these criticisms as I believe they're rather harsh and the reason behind them is most likely their political stance, or his disliking towards Drama's.

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?
Any minority, the Left believes strongly in diversity, therefore any character that'd be considered a minority could be seen as promoting a Left-wing ideology. Especially since the representations of minorities are positive, whereas British people aren't presented as positively which is unusual. 


4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?

Capital reinforces the status quo in Capitalist London by portraying the idea that if you work hard you will achieve we see this when the Banker works on his laptop continuously for the money and so does Quentina when comes and claims for her money she says that she has worked overtime which highlights this idea that they are gaining something after putting in all this effort which signifies to the audience that this is how London works through this capitalist ideology. 

This promotes hegemonic ideology as there are different classes portrayed and the notion that they are socialised to internalise these norms so they can achieve a living out of this.

1) Why did the Daily Mail suggest The Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology?
The daily mail suggested that the casual vacancy promoted the left wing ideology because in the drama it describes how the elite sell of their food banks and rehab centre the sweet love house because they do very little to actually help.


2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?
Because there’s a number of minorities involved throughout the episodes and all of them are represented positively whereas normally it’s the other way around.

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 BBC could be applied to the idea of hegemony and dominant ideologies in the UK media. Firstly the Daily Mail supports right wing ideologies, so they support the elite people and believe if you work hard you will achieve. They also believe that the elite have control. The Daily Mail puts across the idea of hating left wing ideologies and this shows conflict between peoples views.  The BBC could be seen as controlling through their dominance in media, they are alos more civilised and show balanced shows.