The book Twilight, by Anne Deavere Smith is based on the interviews of 48 individuals who lived through the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. The people interviewed for the book twilight came from all walks of life, ranging from Politicians, Police Officers, Scholars, Gang Members, Activist, Business Owner’s and even Victims. Jacqueline O’Conner wrote “By collecting interviews from a wide range of riot participants along with comments from prominent members of various communities both inside and outside the events, she gained a solid reputation for contributing to race debates by blending the words she gathers … that seeks to connect on an individual level.” (O’Conner 161) The problem that I see with Twilight is that even though Anne Deavere …show more content…
Aristotle’s view was that art should not focus on a message but rather the elements i.e. language, harmony, rhyme, thought, song, character, plot, and diction in order to satisfy the audience 's expectations. Therefore, art is a means to an end. Marxism is a theory proposed by Karl Marx that focuses on the distinction between the classes, an ideology that society is split between the upper class (Bourgeoisie) who are the world leaders and business owners that control most of the wealth in the world, they are referred to as the 1% of society, they own the goods and materials used by the working class. The lower class (Proletariats) consists of the working class. Which is everyone who works for someone else, and needs to work to survive in a society set forth by the Bourgeoisie, they strive to achieve the American Dream and become part of the upper class but sadly are unable to attain it. At the bottom of the classes are the (Lumpen Prole) who are the undesirables of society, consisting of beggars, degenerates, and criminals, people who rely on the generosity of others or the aid of the government to survive in society. There is a constant struggle between those that have and those
However, what happens when the roles of the classes turn? This is Karl Marx predicts within his book The Communist Manifesto. The proletariats are the class considered to be the working class, right below the bourgeoise in terms of economic gain. Karl Marx discusses the number ratio between the two classes and discloses the fact that the proletariat outnumber the bourgeoise. Within the class is a sense of belonging, the bourgeoise live their lavish lives and have most of the say so when it comes to power. Most laws and regulations work in the favor of the bourgeoise class, while the working proletariat class is the class of struggle. This is where it ties into man’s self-alienation. Marx’s idea that the working man has alienated himself from humanity by becoming a machine of society, no longer being able to think for himself but rather only thinking of survival and mass production. By focusing on production for the bourgeoise, man is unable to relate to himself or others around him. He is alienated in the fact that he no longer belongs to a community but more so to a factory. This is beneficial to the bourgeoise because they would not have to fear the alliance of the workers against them if each worker felt isolated from one another. Karl Marx describes within his book the overview idea of the working man as a tool for production, a machine himself, isolated
Marxism is a theory that analyses social hierarchy and class struggle though the proletariats (lower class) and the
Marxism (1895–1900) is the economic and political theory and practice originated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that holds that actions and human institutions are economically determined, that the class struggle is the basic agency of historical change, and that capitalism will ultimately be superseded by communism. They include the notion of economic determinism that political and social structures are determined by the economic conditions of people. Marxism calls for a classless society where all means of production are commonly owned, a system to be reached as an inevitable result
To explain Marxism you have know some questions; this question being, How does a capitalist society work? Who does it work in favour for and who has to work for it? This went through Karl Marx’s head when he created the Marxist Theory. That these social classes rising out of Feudalism and how society is going to mold outward. Marx looked at society and saw how capitalism was a struggle between two social classes one being the bureaucrats the people that control the profits and the means of consumer goods and the proletariat the people who had to work to make a living or even to survive (Ollman). The connection between Marxism and the mafia is that the mafia is the bureaucrats that they have control over the blue collar people they control
He wanted to range the lower, middle, and upper class so he proposed the Proletariat and the Bourgeois. He did not believe in no such thing as a middle class so he expressed his fate to move the middle class to the upper class. The Proletariat’s, also known as the Lower class, did not retain enough value. They were the workers and committed to all of the work. If they wanted to refuse, they could but most of the time, they worked. Furthermore, the Bourgeois lived the good life. They were Business owners and owned the land, capital, and Factories. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Marxism is explained in a lot of unique ways.
The working definition of Marxism is a theory that analyzes the relationships of classes and the social conflicts that are within the classes. Marxism claims that this conflict is between the rich and the poor. This theory entails thoughts of socioeconomic differences and focuses the systematic view of the economy. The theory of Marxism is very prevalent in the novel, “The Other Wes Moore.” “The Other Wes Moore”, and a short story titled, “The Lottery” are great example of the differences within social classes.
Marxists believe that the most deprived people shouldn’t have a good education and the least deprived people need more of an education so they can get into the better jobs. Least deprived people have more money and more control, Marxists are for this and would rather
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, is a one-woman performance piece written and originally performed by Anna Deavere Smith, who was commissioned to transcribe regarding the 1992 Los Angeles riots corresponding with individual’s experiences, outlooks, and concerns that contributed to those who were exacerbated by the abominable and nerve racking riots. For her production, Smith interviewed hundreds of Los Angeles’ residents who were present during the occurrence of the riot. The entire script consists actual quotations from members of the Los Angeles community and their reflection on their personal experience being surrounded in the midlife crisis atmosphere. She applied Smith strived to maintain capturing an extensive range of perspectives of the situation by interviewing several individuals from various ethnicities, financial backgrounds to different occupations for instance, Koreans, Latinos, Whites, Blacks, poor and rich people, police officers and gang members. As a result of her contribution, she received positive feedback for her own work. The composed piece is combined with historical research to provide a significant examination of the underlying cause of the devastating riot. The play, Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, provides assistance to illuminate speculations and emotions of numerous diverse viewpoints behind the horrendous racial tensions, the perceived police brutality, and the absence of leadership, which is desperately needed for restoration.
Marxism is a theory based on “a materialist interpretation of historical development and a dialectical view of social transformation” (Wikipedia, 2017) by philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism focuses on social contradictions and the struggle between socioeconomic classes, which are proletariat, who are the poor people and the working class; and bourgeoisie, the rich people that control the means of production. Marxist theory states that the only way to eliminate the differences between both classes is a violent revolution that will lead to a communist society.
In Anna Deavere Smith’s “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992” there are a lot of characters who have different thoughts of what happened and why it happened. The LA uprisings happened after the video of a black young man being severely beaten by four white policemen was released to the media for everyone to see. During the uprisings people were getting shot by stray bullets and businesses were being destroyed, especially Korean stores. It was said to be one of the worst riots in U.S. history.
Before I introduce these concepts it is important I introduce as to where these two theories developed from. In the late nineteenth century, two German philosophers, by the name Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who developed and laid out the foundations and methodology Marxism. According to Ted Trainer, “Marx gave us a theory of society, i.e , an explanation of how society works, of how and why history has unfolded, and especially an account of the nature of capitalism. These are of great value for the task of describing what is going on in the world and for understanding the problems and directions of our society today (Trainer 2010).” Marxism is a method that is known worldwide; it is a method in which focuses on class relations and conflict within society to suppress the individuals at the lower end of the economic ladder. This methodology uses economic and the politics within society to decipher and explore the development of capitalism and the role class plays’ in the economic system. According to their analysis, conflict within the
The Marxist theory in general splits society in half, the rich and the poor. With the poor being exploited by
Marxism is defined by the Webster Dictionary as the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Karl Marx; especially: a theory and practice of socialism including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society. Karl Marx may have had good intentions with his theory on equalizing social classes, but historically, that is not how life works; we can see this within the societal issues of Angela’s Ashes. Suffering that the Frank McCourt and his family underwent in New York and Limerick includes the following: poverty partially due to the father’s alcohol dependency and the ability to not get work, hunger due to lack of sufficient funds, the death of three younger siblings, typhoid fever, the loss of a father. Society oppresses the lower class through religion and alienation which ultimately lead to revolution. In the 1930’s and in many countries today, the working class works for long hours but for low wages.
Marxist theory in general is that they believe that capitalism can only thrive though the explerations of the working class, Marxist believes that they’re a clear link between human nature and the way we operate in a capitalist society. Marxist believes that capitalism is not only an economic system but is also a political system, Marxist believe that a key role in the control of the proletariat is the use of alienation in all aspects of society ; this provides the bourgeoisie with a supple mass of workers who do not mind working for external rewards of a constant wage.
Marxism is a theory derived from the workings of Karl Marx, an economist and political philosopher born in 1818. The theory is based on capitalist ideologies, and the concept that a class structure should be in place in order for society to function. Marxists have the belief that people should live in a hegemonic society with the public existing within their stereotypes (Marx, K. and Engels, F. 1848), without question or