Marxist Feminist Perspectives in the 20th and 21st Centuries

There is nothing new about Marxism in popular culture. However, it seems like it is becoming more prevalent in media channels. Whether it's in social media, movies, books, or songs, Marxist perspectives seem quite common in the 21st century. 

Sellnow explains that neo-marxist perspectives can be interpreted as critical rhetoric in forms of communication theory. These perspectives may include race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Sellnow also briefly explains that including Marxist perspectives in forms of communication doesn’t mean it’s always tied in with a negative ideology - something like communism.  

The majority of popular culture content I stick to is from the 20th or 21st century. For example, Titanic is an absolute classic, and includes some Marxist perspectives. I appreciated the inclusion of Jack’s “I am the King of the World” scene in the videos, but it’s important to note this scene and the movie, as a whole, had an underlying message of wealth status and different classes. Although it’s release was in the 20th century, - wow - it’s popularity has remained even in the 21st century.

A lot of us were either born in the late 20th or early 21st century and grew up with Marxist perspectives everywhere in pop culture. The Women's Rights Movement took place from the mid-1800s until later in 1998, resulting in a movement that took place for over a century. Arguably, the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Progressive Era, or 20th century, gave a lot of content for the newly introduced pop culture movement.

Marxist perspectives in the 21st century arguably have more underlying messages in popular culture than in the 20th century. It was interesting how Sellnow used the Marxist perspective when analyzing ‘Sex and the City’ - which originally came out in the 20th century. However, comparing his analysis to newer releases, it seems this kind of Marxist perspective continues. Many recent releases seem to include these kinds of messages. For example, the release of ‘Barbie’ last summer had a strong feminist perspective and attracted a high female audience.

The upcoming movie ‘Challengers’ with Zendaya is set to release on April 26th. In this trailer, Zendaya - the main character - makes a comment that she is “taking such good care of her little white boys.” This upcoming movie - from the trailer - looks like it will have another strong feminist perspective. 

In the module introductory video, Dr. Stein made an interesting comment about how interpretations can be made if people look through a certain lens. Right now, I believe the current “lens,” perspective, or trend, is the continuation of the Marxist feminist perspective in politics.