In the year 1947, legal conflict arose between Warner Brothers Studio and the Marx Brothers. It began when the Marx Brothers released the name of one of their upcoming films, A Night in Casablanca. When Warner Brothers claimed exclusive rights to the name “Casablanca,” Groucho Marx sent a letter to Warner Brothers in response. In spite of a few ambiguities, Marx employs a brilliant and clever combination of humor and logic to effectively refute Warner Brothers’s assertion. Throughout his letter, Marx uses his ever-present wit to dissolve any actual or imagined hostility in his addressee. For example, in one section, he says “I am sure that the average movie fan could learn tin time to distinguish between Ingrid Birdman [the female star of …show more content…
Marx’s argument here simply makes sense. Rather than befuddling legal jargon, he shows that the idea of owning “Casablanca” is absurd in the same way that owning the word “brothers” is absurd. His logic pierces through any uncertainty and effectively explains his point. He later arrives at the conclusion that “this attempt to prevent us from using the title is the brainchild of some ferret-faced shyster, serving a brief apprenticeship in your legal department” (Marx 2). Marx sees this inference as valid, logical reason for Warner Brothers’s interference. As such, he attempts to show the irrationality of any hindrance to the Marx Brothers’ planned film title. While Groucho Marx does have a number of potent and valid arguments, some poorly planned passages slightly diminish the overall effectiveness of his letter. A recurring issue, Marx’s tendency for rambling distracts the reader from his main goal. His references to Burbank Studio, “Old Man Burbank,” and Harry Appelbaum seem to have no pertinence to the intended subject. However, these are not major issues and can be ignored in order to find Marx’s true purpose. Even more powerful than either comedy or logic alone are instances in which both of these elements are used together in harmony with each other. To start off his letter, Marx makes this comment: “Apparently, there is more than one way of conquering a city and holding it as your own. For example, up to the
Bernard Marx’s dislike for the oppressive World State is solely superficial. His outrage stems from his own personal sense of injustice- although he is an Alpha, he is an outsider. Emotionally, Bernard is an enigma to others. Physically, Bernard is thin and small; a complete juxtaposition to the other Alphas. These physical and emotional defects are the root of his feelings of separation to society, and his value of individualism and non-conformity. This point is exemplified on page 56, which explains ‘The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and
Marx offers so many examples of “Brothers” to create a sense of humor but also contradict the legal name accusation of the Warner Brothers. Groucho says, “What about “Warner Brother”? Do you own that too … Professionally, we were brothers before you were” (Marx). This comes to show that Groucho wanted to make the Warner Brothers realize they also may
Then Marx moves to a defensive tone to explain how the Warner Bros. claim that they own the title and giving different examples of the same names to prove and elaborate on his argument. “You claim you own Casablanca and that no one else can use that name without your permission.” Marx uses a defensive tone to give his opinion and make his argument more broad. By using a defensive tone, it makes the Warner understand and listen to his argument. To this, it leads the Warner Bros. to be convinced by his argument. The audience could relate to the opinion of Marx and agree with the argument of Marx. Marx,
In this essay I plan to analyze the claim by Karl Marx that the bourgeoisie class produces its own "gravediggers". I will first present a definition of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat classes along with what Marx means by his claim. After discussing Marx's claim and his support I will assert that his claim is false and was based on a false assumption. I will argue that Marx does not allow the possibility of an adaptation on behalf of the bourgeoisie. Furthermore, that Marx contradicts his claim with his own ideologies from his critique of capitalism. Finally, Marx adopts historical determinism to support his view which has proven to be flawed. The claim that the bourgeoisie produces its own gravediggers is based on circumstantial
Looking at the socially or culturally history of the United States, many historians use Hollywood films as a primary source. I also used many films such as Easy Rider (1969) or Dance, Girl, Dance (1941) to support my historical thesis paper and to make the topic more vivid by using the images of the film. Even though, some people think that films are accurate and authentic in its depiction, it is important to mention that films are still fictional. Directors and actors are responsible to make us believe their story, but this story does not have to be necessarily true. In that way, fictional films cannot be used as historical evidence in terms of how things looked like during that specific
In the words of Karl Marx, the founding father of Marxism, Marxism principally believes that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” In essence, Marx asserts that every day is a tale of conflict between society’s upper and lower class. While controversial in the real world, this notion is not far-fetched in the realm of literature. For example, Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” shows prominent signs of tension between classes. When examined from a Marxist perspective, Walker’s characters in “Everyday Use” highlight how each class values items and how survival needs and societal expectations differ among classes.
Marx is not the only one to see the down sides of conformity, his friend Helmholtz Watson, a big name emotional engineer and feely (a feely is basically a movie with more than just video and audio, the tactual element is thrown in so one can feel what is going on) writer, also sees something wrong with, conformity. He feels that he can write better things, things outside the norms of society, which would have more meaning.
This essay will critically discuss the Bee Movie and explore the relationships between the Bees and Humans in the film linking them to Marx’s theory of class. Karl Marx (1818-1883) was the founder of Marxism, he is one of the few sociological leaders to see their theory carried out within their lifetime. Marx believed that society was built on conflict between two groups, ‘Most societies are based upon exploitation of some groups by others. Those who own the means of production (such as land, factories, raw materials or capital) exploit those who work for them, and who lack the means to produce things themselves’ (Langley, 2004). This is seen as a capitalist society. Marx’s theory of class is present throughout the Bee Movie. Marx stated that
In the first section, “ Bourgeois and Proletarians. “Marx highlights his vision of history, focusing on the development, struggle and eventual
• As they are presented in the introductory essay, do you think Marx’s works are intended to be theoretical interpretations of communism, or was Karl Marx primarily focused on, and an expert in, the workings of capitalism?
learning, he shows the reader that each event could have taken place. Marx has not
It is important to realize how society works because it helps us to better understand how the film views the economic system that produces people like Travis. It also helps us to better understand what it is like to be like Travis who falls under the Proletariate category. For instance, the use of social structures and the idea of the lower class revolting. Taking this into account is important because it helps us to better understand how the film views the economic system that produces people like Travis. This paper argues that the film illustrates Marx's ideas in order to critique the capitalist
There is deep substance and many common themes that arose throughout Marx’s career as a philosopher and political thinker. A common expressed notion throughout his and Fredrick Engels work consists of contempt for the industrial capitalist society that was growing around him during the industrial revolution. Capitalism according to Marx is a “social system with inherent exploitation and injustice”. (Pappenheim, p. 81) It is a social system, which intrinsically hinders all of its participants and specifically debilitates the working class. Though some within the capitalist system may benefit with greater monetary gain and general acquisition of wealth, the structure of the system is bound to alienate all its
Karl Marx is often called the father of communism, but his life entailed so much more. He was a political economist, philosopher, and idea revolutionist. He was a scholar that believed that capitalism was going to undercut itself as he stated in the Communist Manifesto. While he was relatively ambiguous in his lifetime, his works had tremendous influence after his death. Some of the world’s most powerful and most populace countries follow his ideas to this day. Many of history’s most eventful times were persuaded by his thoughts. Karl Marx was one of the most influential persons in the history of the world, and a brief history of his life will show how he was able to attain many of his attitudes.
As Marx's writings were so diverse and had such great variety, the circumstances under which these writings were written are extremely important to understand. The next few points are to