Reachionary vs. Progressive Texts

This post is for periods 6 and 8 students.

So we've discussed in class how, according to Marxism, there are two social classes:

• Bourgeoisie - the rich people who control everything. Most of us could really get used to the idea of being part of the bourgeoisie. But don't be fooled, in the world of Marxist criticism, they are bad.
• Proletariat - the poor people who do all the real work. They are usually uneducated and easily fooled into thinking that things other than the bourgeoisie are the cause for their woes. They are wrong, of course.

And we've discussed how 'Marxist criticism' looks at an author’s assumptions and values regarding culture, race, and class are examined. And, finally, we've discussed how Marxist criticism sees all texts as one of two kinds:

• Reactionary texts - tools used by the ruling class to maintain power over the working class.
• Progressive texts - tools used by the working class to gain power from the ruling class.

So, now let's look at some examples of each kind of text.  First are some example of reactionary texts. Remember, reactionary texts are meant to control you, to make you do things. Reactionary texts want things to stay the same.

• The Federal Tax Code (written so you pay your taxes)
• The school acedemic honesty policy (written so you don't cheat)
• A commercial for a new Mercedes (written so you'll buy a Mercedes)

 Next are some example of progressive texts. Again, progressive texts are meant to break the rules, to change the way people think, to bring revolution to the 'staus quo.' Pregressive texts want things to change.

• Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" (written to change the way people think about equality and race relations)
• Any war protest song (written to change a nation's current foreign policy)
• Graffiti written on a desk describing a teach as boring, ugly, stupid, etc. (written to change the way students think about the teacher)

Your task: Post a coment in which you describe a text (book, story, movie, poem, etc.), state whether you think the text is reactionary or progressive, and explain why. Be sure to read all of the posts before yours - no repeats! Please note that your responses should be thoughful, thoough, and gramatically correct.

Extra credit: In a separate comment (or two or three) respond to other comments. Do you agree or disagree with your classmates? Why or why not?