Cultural Hegemony

“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.” – Marx & Engels, The German Ideology

Class warfare is not simply a matter of economics. Although we may put particular emphasis on the raw, economic realities of capitalism and socialism, the fight happens just as much in the realm of culture. After all, our world is not wholly determined by the economic and material processes that form the base of our society. It is also maintained and molded by culture, art, and all other activity in the superstructure.

The ideas and beliefs that develop within any classed society will inevitably develop out of a specific class and serve to benefit a specific class. Every aspect of human life is consumed by class, and so the ideas that emerge from them are also consumed by class.

“In a society torn by class antagonisms there can never be a non-class or an above-class ideology.” – Lenin, What Is To Be Done?

As a result of this, much effort is put in by the ruling class in order to propagate their views and ideology. To maintain control, to maintain their dominant position, they must dominate the minds of all those subordinate to them. As Antonio Gramsci and many theorists since have noted, it is not reasonable to use violent force constantly to keep people in line. Instead, along with the threat of force, the ruling class must flood society with a culture that supports their rule. They must make their views the popular ones. They must make the proletarian think like the bourgeois.

This is what Gramsci called Cultural Hegemony. Through the spreading of their ideology, the ruling class may keep the subordinate class docile and nonthreatening. They may keep the oppressed people consenting to their own domination, falsely believing that it is in their best interest. Cultural hegemony is about keeping the exploited people willfully taking part in exploitation.

“We define hegemony as the process of moral, philosophical, and political leadership that a social group attains only with the active consent of other important social groups.” – Lee Artz & Bren Ortega Murphy, Cultural Hegemony in the United States

Tools Of The Ruling Class

Those in power have nearly every tool of social engineering at their disposal, and they use all of them to indoctrinate the masses. They use many public and private institutions to reinforce their hegemony and maintain the consent of those they dominate. In basic terms, the class that owns everything owns everything. The people who own the media have the same class interests as the people who own the oil industry. The people who control the production of school books have the same class interests as the people who control the production of military equipment. They all belong to the bourgeoisie, the ruling class. They all benefit from helping to maintain the overarching systems that allow each of them to exist. Even if they fight among themselves, never do they fight against the systems that mutually benefit them.

In more technical language, the ruling class controls what Louis Althusser referred to as the “Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs).” Religion, the family, and the educational system, are all examples of institutions celebrated and pushed onto the masses that serve to imbue them with the ruling ideology. Through all of these ideological apparatuses, the people are taught to value the same things the bourgeoisie value, to celebrate the very systems of their own domination. One of these systems of indoctrination is what Althusser referred to as the “cultural ISA.” This includes everything from sports to literature and the arts. Yes, even the supposedly free “art” of our society is widely used to maintain hegemony.

Ideology in Art

“In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art’s sake, art that stands above classes, art that is detached from or independent of politics.” – Mao, Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art

This is an important thing to note. We often believe that art is separate from politics, that it exists almost in a vacuum. In reality, art is a form of expression and communication of certain ideas, and those ideas are just as subject to class as everything else. Taking this further, the fact that art is a commodity and an industry under capitalism means that “successful” art is always going to support bourgeois ideology in some way. Art commissioned, produced, and paid for by the ruling class will be sensible and palatable to the ruling class. The bigger the industry, the larger the profit desired from the sale of the art, the more it will be subject to bourgeois tastes. To be “mainstream” you must appeal to what is popular, and that means not challenging the social, economic, or political status quo.

In an effort to appeal to that status quo, many artists will self-censor for the sake of being viable on the market. They will withhold certain beliefs or ideas they have because they understand that they will not receive payment if they try to express them. On top of that, the people commissioning or funding their art will have certain demands that must be met. You can not make any profitable mainstream art without being subject to corporate rule.

In these ways, art functions as part of the cultural ISA. The music that is played on the radio will support consumerism, patriarchal views of relationships, etc. Publicly displayed photography or paintings will often be used to promote some product or event. Sculptures will celebrate bourgeois heroes and function as monuments to bourgeois ideology. The more popular the work of art, the more support it receives from the capitalists and corporations, the more you can expect it to support the interests of the ruling class, and perhaps no art is as popular and widely supported as the works produced by Hollywood. Further, there is perhaps no art as mainstream as that of Marvel’s superhero films.

Ideology in Marvel Films

“Because every film is part of the economic system it is also a part of the ideological system, for ‘cinema’ and ‘art’ are branches of ideology… All cinema is political.” – Jean-Luc Comolli & Jean Narboni, Cinema/Ideology/Criticism

I am choosing to look at Marvel films because they give us both a large amount of content to analyze and a foundation in something most people are familiar with. Most people have at least seen a couple of these films. They are also so drenched in ruling class ideology that I do not even need to touch on any obscurities or particularly hard-to-follow trains of thought. Instead, we are able to break down into a few basic categories and show how these films back established power dynamics and further convince the masses of their subordinate position.

Military/Intelligence Worship

One of the most clear ways in which the Marvel movies support the ruling class is through their constant praising of the u$ military and intelligence agencies. For starters, here is a brief list of some of the heroes who have worked for these organizations.

Captain America (Steve Rogers), Army

Falcon (Sam Wilson), Air Force

Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Air Force

War Machine (James Rhodes), Air Force

Nick Fury, Army/CIA

Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) Army

Maria Hill, Marine Corps

Everett Ross, CIA

Many other military/intelligence personnel appear in the films as supporting characters. Even Stan Lee, practically the Marvel mascot, appeared as a military general at one point. Tony Stark, Iron Man, was also a military contractor. Overall, the point the films drive home with this is the idea of u$ soldiers/agents being heroes who fight valiantly for what is right. This message is not a coincidence, as the Pentagon has actually funded and supervised the production of several of the Marvel films directly, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man, and Iron Man 2.

More than just the extreme military presence in the films, look at what the heroes actually do. They regularly meddle in the affairs of foreign countries, and this is almost always portrayed as an overwhelming positive. The only time it is questioned is in Captain America: Civil War, but that film ends without real resolution of this problem and seems to actually imply that their foreign intervention is a good thing because, despite all the casualties, they are making the world a better place. This normalizes the idea of violating other nations’ independence. In Iron Man, the hero is even praised by the citizens of Afghanistan after invading their country and overthrowing a terrorist organization. Does this not sound exactly like the way the u$ portrays it’s involvement in other countries’ politics?

Taking this even further, there is also a consistent element of xenophobia. Our great military heroes have to regularly protect us from an “alien” invasion. The plots of Avengers and Avengers: Infinity War both depend on this idea. In fact, our Infinity War heroes are only even able to maintain their position for so long because the nation of Wakanda has a nearly impenetrable border wall. What does that make you think of? So our superheroes are stand-ins for u$ military/intelligence agents, and they regularly have to intervene in foreign countries and annihilate massive “alien” invasions to protect us. I hope the problem is clear by now.

Although I have not seen it, the newly released Captain Marvel film seems like it will be yet another huge advertisement for the u$ military.

“Military news blog Task & Purpose compared Captain Marvel trailers to recruitment ads, linking Carol Danvers’ empowerment with her military service. And while the Air Force can’t openly say the movie is a recruitment tool, an Air Force representative told Task & Purpose that they had a ‘partnership’ with the filmmakers to make sure Danvers was ‘accurate and authentic,’ with the aim of creating an Air Force heroine who would be positively received.” – Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, Is ‘Captain Marvel’ Military Propaganda?

Billionaires & Dictators Are Good, Actually

Other groups heavily represented by the Marvel cast? Billionaires and dictators. Tony Stark is a self-described, “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” In the scene where that is mentioned it is as a statement about his worth as a person, as a force for good. One of the things that makes Tony special is specifically that he is a billionaire. On top of that, his wealth was inherited from his father. Yet it is portrayed in the film as something special to him, a marker of his own achievements and character. Tony is a celebration of wealth, a celebration of the mythical “benevolent billionaire.”

Thor is from a kingdom ruled by a supreme leader. He has a birthright to the throne and is able to lead because he is the strongest. That “might makes right” system of ruling is specifically fascist, specifically right wing and autocratic. To further this point, he has a “birth right” to rule a nation with extremely strict borders, and he just so happens to have blonde hair and blue eyes. He’s a poster boy for white nationalism.

T’Challa, Black Panther, manages to be both a billionaire and a dictator. Like Tony, part of his power comes from the fact he is so wealthy. Like Thor, he rules his nation because he is the strongest. He also inherited both his wealth and his position on the throne. The effect of portraying billionaires and dictators like this is to normalize them. In reality, billionaires only have wealth because they have exploited the working class. Dictators only have power because they have subsumed the power of the masses. These films send the message that those in power deserve their position. They have a birth right to it, and they are also the most fit to use it. This is exactly the type of message that needs to be spread to maintain hegemony and the consent of the masses. One of the most important tasks for any ruling class is to convince the people that they deserve to be the ruling class.

Heroes Are White Men

The Marvel cast is also overwhelmingly white and male. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Spider-man, Ant-Man, and Star-Lord are all front and center. They are all white, and they are all men (some of them even have “man” in their name!). It took a full decade before Black Panther was introduced and there was finally a black superhero, but he was still a man. It took a full year more before there was a Marvel film starring a womon, but she was still white. All Marvel stars must be white men or adjacent to white men. They may rarely violate one of those categories but not both. There is no Marvel movie starring a Native American, black, or Hispanic womon.

Further, the roles minorities and womyn play as supporting characters clearly reinforce their subordinate position in society. Black characters like Nick Fury, War Machine, and Falcon are all side-kicks who provide back up. They are lead by their white male heroes and useless without them. The womyn are usually simply trophies or achievements for the men. The audience wonders if Tony Stark will be able to balance being Iron Man while trying to “get the girl.” Most men in the Marvel cast have a love interest whose character does not extend far past “love interest.” Often they even play the damsel in distress.

Even Black Panther, with its representation of an African society, does not avoid supporting a white male hegemony and worldview. The villain of the film is a black revolutionary who has more in common with the real world Black Panthers than the hero does. The film criticizes any violent attempts at black activism and conveys the message that the correct path is to work within the system peacefully instead of overturning it. The film calls for members of oppressed groups to “build bridges” with their oppressors, to seek out legal and non-violent “solutions.” This rhetoric of “being patient” and “working with” the oppressors only serves to prolong the reign of the ruling class.

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” – Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

And it isn’t just me saying the themes of Black Panther support the status quo and oppose activism. This message is one that conservatives have praised for its value to the right-wing! Not only are the vast majority of the heroes white, but the one black hero has a movie dedicated to pacifying and demonizing black activists!

Avengers: Infinity War & Population Control

It must also be pointed out that the biggest Marvel event film to date, Avengers: Infinity War, conveys some extremely troubling messages about population control. The antagonist of the film, Thanos, wants to kill half of the population of the universe to avoid overpopulation and running out of resources. This pushes a fascist myth that the reason we have poverty and suffering is because of scarcity, because there isn’t enough to go around. The reality of the situation is that we have enough resources to take care of everyone, but capitalism locks those resources away behind paywalls and private property laws, which makes it impossible for some people to get even the most basic of necessities.

What makes this particularly dangerous is that Thanos is portrayed as sympathetic. The film does not come down too strongly on his ideas. He is possibly mislead, possibly a bit uncaring, but he is not shown as illogical. What he is saying is made to sound reasonable. This has spawned many to say that Thanos was correct in his assessment of the situation. The massive YouTube channel “The Film Theorists” have a video titled “Thanos was RIGHT!” that has over 11 million views and has received overwhelmingly positive attention. Marvel managed to make a film that successfully made the genocide of half of the population seem like a reasonable solution to the problems of poverty, hunger, and war.

Avengers: Infinity War is currently the highest grossing Marvel film to date, and the 4th highest grossing film of all time.

Heroes As A Whole

But even if a Marvel film managed to avoid supporting the military, fetishizing the power of white men, and arguing for the mass murder of billions, it would still function as a tool for hegemony. Why? Because the very idea of the “superhero” is a creation of bourgeois culture!

Films that depict superheroes saving the world push the narrative that the movement and development of the world is caused by the acts of extraordinary individuals. Spider-man does not lead a mass movement to defeat whatever villain is plaguing New York that week. It is entirely through his own actions that society is saved. This celebration of the individual as something “above” society, reigning over it, is particularly bourgeois. We Communists recognize that the movement of history, the movement of society, is a movement of the masses. It is the masses that ultimately create lasting change, and it will only be the masses that save us from real catastrophic threats. Bourgeois ideology wants us to worship individuals and think of everyone as completely autonomous and separate. Superheroes push that extreme individualism, make us believe that salvation will come through the acts of a select few and not through the actions of an organized proletarian class. Proletarian ideology teaches us just the opposite! It teaches us the truth: “The masses are the real heroes!”

Questioning the Mainstream

The topics discussed above are just a few of the bourgeois ideas pushed in Marvel films, and Marvel films are just one example of a way the ruling class feeds its ideology to the working class. The point to take away from this is bigger than just “Marvel films are bad.” Because the ruling class has control over the mainstream culture, because cultural hegemony exists, we must learn to question everything. We must learn to question the things that are seen as obvious, as common. The more normal a thing appears to us, the more it permeates our society, the more we must question its purpose. We must always be aware of our surroundings. Every ideology, every system, supports either the proletariat or the bourgeoisie. We Communists must always be aware of that, and we must always align ourselves with the interests of the masses.

Further Reading

I recommend reading every book/article mentioned above, as well as the work of Gramsci and Althusser. Work by Adorno and the Frankfurt School may also help in understanding the culture industry and hegemony. Additionally, the following articles will help to understand both hegemony and hegemony as represented by superheroes.

The Avengers: How Superhero Comics Preserve Ruling Class Ideology, by Wendy Huang (read here)

A critique of the Gotham programme: Marxism and superheroes, by Sasha Simic (read here)