Marxism in Art?

From paintings, to music, to protests, to health care--Marxist theory abounds. Let's try applying the Marxist lens to the following paintings.

"Hollywood" by Thomas Hart Benton
"Power Games" by Roland Rafael Repczuk

"Pigstown Council Annual Meeting" by Jalaini Abu Hassan

"Liberation of Baghdad" by Sandow Birk

"America"

"In Smog and Thunder" by Sandow Birk

"Pyramid of Capitalist System"

"The Garden of Eden"

"A Painting for a Government Poster" by John Falter

Is this Russia?

On September 12, 2009, ten of thousands of protesters marched to the U.S. Capitol to express their disdain for the President's health care plan and government spending. Carrying slogans that read "Obamacare makes me sick" and "I'm not your ATM," protestors chanted "Enough, Enough!" Some protesters even carried pictures of Obama with the signature mustache of Adolf Hitler and referred to him as a socialist and communist. The idea of a government-run health care system has many concerned and worried about the future--their future and their children's future. And that concern has awakened the nation--encouraging citizens to seek the truth. What is the truth behind Obama's health care plan? Check out the below links.

Fact Check: Decoding Obama's Health Care Plan
The Truth--Lott's Numbers, Part II
The Obama Plan



After what we've read in Chapter 3 and what you've learned about Obama's Health Care Plan, what are your thoughts?

Guilt: It's all your fault.

“Guilt is the regret or painful experience when we choose to act in conflict with our conscience and beliefs.”

Innocence is said to be the complete opposite of guilt; innocence is freedom from corruptness and guilt is the result of its presence.

There are three types of guilt: real guilt, neurotic guilt, and false guilt. Real guilt comes from feeling bad about choosing the “wrong thing” in accordance with one’s beliefs in a controllable situation. Neurotic guilt is when an individual blames themselves for every wrong happening in their life. False guilt is when one feels responsible for everything, including situations he/she is not involved in.

Some things that guilt causes include anxiety, depression, fainting (this may be connected to Dante!), insomnia, eating disorders, other self-destructive behaviors, and hallucinations.

Guilt is also seen in a positive light as it teaches society lessons, help individuals overcome conflicts (like core issues), works as a great motivator (guilt trips), and also regulates social behavior.

Take this quiz to see how guilty you are.

When we feel guilty, we feel as though we’ve fallen short of our moral standards, but who REALLY sets these standards? What relieves the burden of guilt? And who is able to be deemed innocent?

Who Art Thou Thy True Lady MacBeth?

In Shakespeare plays 'MacBeth' there is a notorious, fictional character named Lady Macbeth. Who really was Lady MacBeth, though? The real Lady MacBeth was connected weakly to a queen of Scotland figure, Queen Gruoch.

Queen Gruoch was the granddaughter of a former King of Scotland, Kenneth III. With her first husband, Gillecomgain or Gille Coemgáin (it was spelled both ways),they fathered one child, Lulach; he became king later in life for less than a year and was nicknamed “The Fool”. Gillecomgain, however, was killed in a fire accident in 1032. After Gillecomgain died, Queen Gruoch remarried his cousin, MacBeth.

Unlike her cruel character in Shakespeare’s play, Queen Grouch was thought to have been a nice and understanding person. It is even thought that she donated some lands near Loch Leven to the Church.

The imposing questions left are: Why did Shakespeare base his character off Queen Gruoch? Why are the two (Lady MacBeth and Queen Gruoch) so loosely connected?

"Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog.."

“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”

This is one of the many quotes of the three witches in Macbeth. The witches foreshadow what Macbeth was feeling in the play. They represent the main theme of evil In Macbeth. Due to the portrayal of witches in Macbeth, the actual curse was formed by “witches” in the audience of the first performance in 1606.

Now the curse has taken over the play itself. It is said that if you speak the name Macbeth outside of the script, it will bring bad luck and tragedies to the play. To take back the name, and reverse the bad luck, you have to go outside and spin around 3 times yelling a profane word then knock on the door of the theatre requesting permission to come back in. Other techniques include, quoting a line from Hamlet, or spitting over your shoulder.

To avoid using the name Macbeth, people have often used “The Scottish Play” to refer to to it.

There is one person who believed he released the curse of Macbeth, Kevin Carlyon is the self proclaimed High priest of the British white witches. With the help of two "witch" assistants, he is certain that he has gotten rid of the curse, but no information has been posted about recent macbeth tragedies.

Do you really think there is a curse? If you do, do you believe that Kevin Carlyon has lifted it or if he really is the "High Priest" he says he is or just a fake? Share Your Opinions!

An·drog·y·ny

Have you ever seen someone walking down the street and thought, Are they a male of female? They would be androgynous. The definition of Androgyny is "Having both female and male characteristics; hermaphroditic. 2. Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior" (dictionary.com). More recent well known cases of this is the runner from Jamaica, Caster Semenya. She was going to have her medals taken away from her because she looked more masculine than feminine. After many tests they concluded that she was indeed a woman but they still wanted to strip her of her medals and declared that she was not to participate in competitive sports again. While being one sex, yet looking like another can be hard to live with an overcome, yet some comedians feel the need to make fun of it. Like Saturday Night Live (SNL) had an ongoing skit with a character named Pat, and it was a joke to figure out whether or not Pat was a boy or a girl. Observations have led to the discovery that more and more androgynist women are prevalent in society today.

Food for thought: do you notice that more and more women or men today look androgynous?

Also check out this quiz and see where you rank on the scale.