Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.

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East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 1
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.


The very idea of studying Britney Spears in
relation to Marxism, may seem a little strange
!ut, "e could argue that analy#ing a $opular icon
such as Britney Spears can tell us a great deal
a!out the "ider culture in "hich "e live%
&lthough a good deal of people may actually loathe the sound of her music
'and her manufactured appearance( the fact remains that "e are
constantly !om!arded "ith her image)sound across*
&ir"aves+ maga#ines+ ne"spapers+ retail outlets+ music stores+ etc%
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 2
Britney
Spears
-ar! ,arx
Si'mn" *re"
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
,n addition to this, millions of people !uy the sounds and products that
Britney Spears is associated "ith%
There has to !e a reason 'or a set of reasons( for "hy this occurs in
this short lesson, "e are going to have a !rief loo- at ho" the neo.
Marxist theory of the /ran-furt School, might attempt to explain "hy
this ta-es place%
The /ran-furt school consisted of a group of theorists "ho amalgamated
Marxist theory "ith the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund /reud%
/irstly !efore "e explore some of their arguments, "e need to re.cap
on the !asic principles of traditional Marxist Theory, and explore the
!asic frame"or- of Sigmund /reuds psychological theory of the
personality*
Principles of Marxism:
Freuds psychological theory of the personality:
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 3
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
But first, let us explore "hy you thin- she is so popular*
In your opinion(s), why is ritney !pears so successful"
0nto the Marxist analysis*
#ops$$$% &he 'apitalists (id it )gain"

&ccording to this vie", MT1, T1 net"or-s, the recording industry,
distri!ution la!els, and sponsors)advertisers 'the ruling class( act
together to shape the cultural tastes of us * the masses$
,n effect, the capitalists '+ourgeoisie)ruling class( create the
desire and false need of Britney Spears products in millions of
consumers across the planet%
&ccording to the Marxist vie", "e are largely una"are of !eing
conned !y this process in fact, the masses tend to !elieve that
Britney Spears is popular !ecause she is 2good2*
&n ama#ing and fantastic Star,
& modern ,con for the females, and
& sexy seductress for the males%
&nd so, "e !uy uncritically, into anything to do "ith her%
This is "hat the Marxists "ould term* False 'onsciousness
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 4
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
,$$ This Marxist analysis isnt only restricted to Britney Spears it can
!e applied to any popular cultural influence* i%e% Soap 0peras, $op)Roc-
music, Cinema, Maga#ines etc%
/or the Marxists, Britney Spears is nothing more than a profita!le
commodity%
She may appear to !e original to her fans, !ut in reality . she is a
standard product, carefully crafted, staged, and mar-eted* "ith the
sole purpose of increasing the profits for the culture industry%
& Christina &guilera, a Sha-ira, or a 3ennifer 4ope# are actually
other standardi#ed products !ut the manipulation of our
consciousness, !y the culture industry remains the same%

(o you agree with the Marxist point of -iew * is Pop music
only there to manipulate and control" &hink a+out your own
tastes in music * why do you .like it"
To Theodore &dorno pop songs are all ali-e% There may !e slight
frills differentiating one hit from the next !ut they are in reality
standardi#ed products among "hich the untrained ear cannot
discriminate%
5oo-s, 'or the most fre6uently cited verses(, the chorus lines, or
the catchiest passages of pop songs ta-e a"ay anything that is
authentic from artistic expressions*
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. .
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
70oh Ba!y, !a!y 89 is a perfect example% &nother trivia 6uestion*
"hat "as Britney "earing in the video: &ppearance assumes a
central importance as videos shift the emphasis from sound
contemplation into image ga#ing%
This eye.candy is carefully constructed to loo- !eautiful or
appealing !y careful crafting% Britney Spears !ecomes a product .
losing any strand of individuality to appeal to consumers%
5er music ceases to !e important, confused in the chaos of !y.
products* including her !ody and face, her !oo-s and maga#ines, her
clothing, cosmetics, posters, lunch !oxes, perfume line, her doll and
aspects of her lifestyle%

Such mental regression for &dorno is dangerous, !ecause it
distracts the masses . entertainment provides personal escapism
from the economic constraints of capitalism%
&s "e !uy pop music C;s, concert tic-ets, paraphernalia, and
fantasi#e over the glamorous lifestyle of travel, and the physical
!eauty of our pop stars* "e lose sight of ourselves and the material
conditions of our existence%

Britney Spears ,nc% then functions as social cement, allo"ing
consumers to !ecome o!livious to in<ustice and ine6ualities% ,t
matters little or nothing that Britney herself is o!<ectified and
dehumani#ed%
=hat matters to her fans across the glo!e is to have a shot at
!eing li-e her or at having her*

&he actual fusion of sentimental music lies rather in
the temporary release gi-en to the awareness that
one has missed fulfillment $$$ /motional music has
+ecome the image of the mother who says, .0'ome
and weep, my child$0 It is catharsis for the masses,
+ut catharsis which keeps them all the more firmly in
line $$$ '&dorno, >??>* @>@.@>A(%
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 6
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
=e, 'the masses( are largely una"are of !eing duped, and !elieve
that Britney Spears is popular !ecause she is 2good2, and "e !uy
uncritically into anything to do "ith her% &s &dorno suggests*

&hus, although the culture industry undenia+ly
speculates on the conscious and unconscious state
of the millions towards which it is directed, the
masses are not primary +ut secondary, they are
an o+1ect of calculation, an appendage of the
machinery$ &he customer is not king, as the
culture industry would ha-e us +elie-e, nor its
su+1ect +ut its o+1ect$ '&dorno, >??>* BC(%
Britney is also a seductress, and represents a myth of our
contemporary society, D it is important to understand her practices
of seduction%
Britney represents a 4olita in our pornographic culture, our
o!scene culture "hich fetishi#es image* !ut she is the simulation
of a "oman . produced !y men+ she is also the girl version of "oman,
the ageless, the toned, the temptress 8
Even no", as her image is changing drastically to one of !eing
fallen, and out of control%
Britney is an example of distorted and false fulfillment* Capitalism
sells people the idea of eroticism, "ealth, escape and !eauty* and
also loss, illness preying on peoples voyeuristic pleasures%
Controlling and shaping peoples personalities into meaningless and
empty directions%
/or the /ran-furt school, the ,d is the part of the personality
"here true creativity and passion comes from the source of
personal revolution%
The personal revolution of many results in true external or social
revolution%
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. /
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
But the ,d or the 4i!ido 'passion, lust, sexual and spiritual
freedom( is channeled !y the capitalist mass media into things li-e
pop stars, sport, holiday programmes, and roc- !ands+ the
excitement and false danger of the theme par- to control the ,d%
Capitalism can pac-age a!solutely anything and sell it !ac- to us
for example* thin- a!out "hy people !uy maga#ines)stories etc%
a!out Britneys immanent do"nfall:
2sing .)dorno, can we explain the pu+lic addiction and3or
fascination with the darker aspects of cele+rity"

Popular culture, .sex 4 control: a Foucauldian -iew:
,n the .5istory of !exuality Michel /oucault '>?BF( discusses the
idea that =estern culture has long !een fixated on sexuality%
/oucault argues that the need to investigate sex scientifically and
control it 'through categories D norms( has resulted in ma-ing
sexuality visi!le every"here%
/oucault "rites of people2s urge to confess anything that has to do
"ith sexuality, "hat he calls confession% Confession is not only
referred to in the sense of a Christian expurgation of sin, !ut also
more generally as the urge to find the meaning and 2truth2 a!out
sexuality%
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 0
Neo-Marxism: Personality, Control & Culture.
0ur society as a "hole suffers from a compulsion to confess and
tal- a!out anything that is sexual% =e do it on ne"spapers columns,
tal- sho"s, music videos, movies% 'E%g% thin- of* 3erry Springer,
3eremy Gyle, 0prah etc%(
/oucault argues that this compulsion 'at least historically( comes in
part from the Christian need to purify one2s soul !y ac-no"ledging
temptation and sin%
So "hen sexuality is seen as treacherous, attempts are made to
contain it and saniti#e it !y ma-ing pu!lic spectacles of the
transgressors* and this process ta-es place so that it can !e
controlled%

,n contemporary popular culture, Sexuality 'and sexual expression(
has no" exploded, it governs many of our goals and actions, and
certainly it governs the logic of ma-ing film D $op stars% To
understand sexuality "e must, ho"ever, first understand po"er%
/or /oucault, $o"er is al"ays manifested in discourse . the "ays
that communications ta-e place !et"een and among people* i%e% in
everyday speech, and in "hat "e -no"%
Media.displayed stars provide categories of normal and a!normal
!ehaviours for us to follo" or express concern or disgust a!out%
=hen "e have shaped our opinions "e then use our perception to
influence the other people around us%
6ist a few examples of cele+rities3stars that are seen as
either .wholesome or dangerously re+ellious:
East Lancs Institute of Higer E!ucation. 1