Marxism and media studies - Mike Wayne

Aimed at students of media studies who are interested in bringing a radical political methodology to bear on their work, this book is an accessible guide to key Marxist concepts and shows how to apply them to contemporary cultural analysis.;Drawing on Marx, Lukacs, Gramsci, Habermas, Jameson and other writers, this book provides a comprehensive exposition of the key concepts required for a Marxist analysis of the media and current cultural trends. Retooling and redeeming such concepts as class, mode of production, culture industries, the state, base-superstructure, ideology, hegemony, knowledge and social interests, and commodity fetishism, this book ranges across film, television, the Internet and print media. The analysis is carefully grounded in case studies ranging from digital file swapping to Disney, from reality TV show "Big Brother" to the spirits and spectres in such films as "The Others", "The Devil's Backbone" and "Dark City", which illuminate the fetishisms of culture and society under capital.;Exploring the relevance of each concept to understanding the media, Wayne explains why Marxism is an important critical methodology for the media student to engage with. He foregrounds the theoretical and political shifts that have led to its marginalization in recent years, and highlights how and why these trends are changing as once more, people return to Marx and Marxism to understand the world around them.