commodity fetishism lecture
Post on 12-May-2015
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Marx and Labor
More Labor
Less pay for the labor
Accumulation of capital in the hands of the few
Alienation & The Bicycle Thief The worker is
alienated from the product of his labor which he does not own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgHr5PslWQ (7:33)
The worker cannot use the things he produces to keep him or herself alive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myo2vOIGvLQ&feature=related
Under capitalism recession means that workers 'consume less because they produce too much.
The worker is dependent on the capitalists who own the means of production.
The Bicycle Thief and Religion Marx: “The abolition
of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. “
The church scene The soothsayer: http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=7nCPZtJNE-c&feature=related (5:40)
Marx: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
The Bicycle Thief and Revolution From Hegel to
Marx http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=5yaGMbrxTBs&feature=related
(5:35) The organized
black market
Beijing Bicycle
Director: Wang Xiaoshuai He is part of the urban
generation of directors who grew up during China’s economic reforms
These directors focus on the present and future Chinese society
Their films tend to be shot on location
They tend to use non professional actors
They use a documentary approach
Themes in Beijing Bicycle Themes Examples Migration and
dislocation (from rural areas to urban ones)
The widening gaps in society
Shift from planned economy to free-market capitalist economy & critic of capitalism
The decline in the state's ability to provide essential services
Social alienation
Sympathetic portrayal of rural immigrants as individuals (e.g. protagonist/ Guei)
The maid/ rich woman scene Being forced to pay for shower
services in leisure house Being possibly swindled over
the payment of his bicycle at work
Poverty experienced by migrants
The alienating power of the city, rural immigrants as outsiders (Wang’s own similar experience)
Commodity Fetishism and Beijing Bicycle What is commodity
Fetishism? How does the Bicycle
work as a commodity? Li Shuang, the bicycle
freestylist. The relationship
between Guei & Li Bin Capitalism vs
Socialism
From Beijing Bicycle to the immediate world: Applying commodity Fetishism
Commodity Fetishism In Society Brands replacing local
merchants with mass industrialization.
Comforting brand figures as replacements.
E.g. Quaker Oats, Green Giant
People organize themselves according to brand tribes.
Being an Abercrombie type of person or a Nike type of person
Commodity Fetishism & Brands in the 21st Century Selling brands as ideas
and lifestyles Coca-Cola selling the
youth lifestyle Nike selling athletic
ability Benetton selling diversity Virgin selling individuality
and rebellion Apple using MLK and
Ghandee (doing things differently)
IKEA selling democracy (you can put together your furniture on your own)
IKEA: Control your own destiny i.e. democracy
Brand Ideas living independently Tommy Hilfiger—selling
the spirit of rock and roll. 1. Sponsoring concerts. 2. Making musicians
wear your cloths. 3. Getting musicians in
ads 4. The brand ends up
having a cultural role, it becomes a star in its own merit.
Brand product placement in film and television
Commodity Fetishism and GlobalizationLabor , sweatshops and commodity fetishism.
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