Pop Culture Film and Marxism

 

Pop Culture Film and Marxism

I think the idea of Marxism as it relates to classism and society is often depicted in different ways throughout notable films. Pop culture has often referenced the common differences in wealthy and “regular” members of society in entertainment productions. The films I have mentioned below offer storylines of individuals that have found themselves in the presence of wealthy society showing examples of Marxism and different social class.

I believe this is a constant theme that will continue to repopulate throughout film and television show productions as consumerism and economic issues are mentioned and the entertainment industry continues to try to find relatability to “regular” consumers.

Do you also think this will be a common theme in the future or do you have a different theme in mind?

 

Clueless

In the film Clueless, the main character Cher is a wealthy popular girl with a well-known lawyer father. She was used to being the center of attention as well as getting everything she wanted from boys to shopping sprees. She was seen by her father and stepbrother as semi shallow due to seemingly having no interest other than having her hair, nails, and make up done. Her favorite line in the film was “as if” which could be interpreted as how unfair or oh well. Her life changed when she met Tai, who was the opposite of her. She volunteered to give her a complete makeover including styling, behavior, and love life advice. Everything was fine until Tai started getting the attention that she had always had.

Cher began to look within herself because she was called shallow by her love interest as well as her father. She began to show that she had a cause that she cared about, and that she was not only a narcissistic selfish individual. This related to Marxism because many of Cher’s interest at the beginning of the film related to classism and showed how she was separated from “regular” society.

 

Pretty Woman

In the popular film, Pretty Woman, a woman stumbles across a wealthy businessman. She piqued his interest due to her blunt honesty along with her constant earnestness to learn more about his world. One of the most popular scenes from the film is the shopping scene. Of course, she was not appropriately dressed to enter a fancy store. I do not believe one should be judged that way because their presence in the store should indicate that they are a reasonable customer and consumer. Nevertheless, she was treated rudely by the saleswomen. She later returned and told them it was a mistake because they could have earned a lot of commission.

Though she had a makeover due to the expectations of fitting into the wealthier society of the new man she was dating, her attitude towards how she thought others should be treated did not change. This film related to Marxism because it showed the differences between her lifestyle, her friends, and her new life with the wealthier society related to classism.