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Gang of Four and Pop Music as Marxist Critical Theory


On their second album Solid Gold, the postpunk rock group Gang of Four openly assert their intention to approach pop music as critical theory with a song titled, appropriately enough, "Why Theory?" In answer to their own query of why critical theory should have a place in rock music, the band sings "Each day seems like a natural fact / And what we think changes how we act." The critical theory that Gang of Four present in their music is a Marxist one centered on the premise that before revolt can take place, one must first penetrate through the consciousness that is determined by capitalistic ideology in order to understand why a revolution is necessary.  Gang of Four locate their Marxist theory in the Althusserian notion of expressing resistance through the contradictions inherent in the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) of the corporate-controlled rock music industry, and the way in which Gang of Four express their theory of Marxist thought is by inducing in the listener an alternative consciousness achieved through contradictions and disorientations that serve to mirror the very sense of disorientation and contradiction that capitalistic consciousness creates.

According to neo-Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, an ISA is the site in which the class struggle takes place and Gang of Four grandly engaged in this contradiction by proudly signing a contract with the huge multinational conglomerate EMI as well as by choosing to ironically title their first album Entertainment! and then serving up a collection of songs that critique the very idea of entertainment being used to propagate an ideology with which the band disagrees. In a footnote to his essay Althusser somewhat fails to present a concrete view of how contradiction within an ISA actually works, but a hint of what he's trying to say is expressed when he writes "the class struggle extends beyond the ISAs because it is rooted elsewhere than in ideology, in the Infrastructure, in the relations of production, which are relations of exploitation and constitute the base for class relations." The contradiction inherent in the music industry is that a company like EMI can only exist by making profits off its acts and Gang of Four presented themselves as a potentially profitable band despite their dissident theories.  MORE...


Madonna as Icon : Leftist Rebel or Poster Girl for Capitalism

Because of her affront to so-called decency, Madonna has been attacked from the political right with a fervor almost medieval in its zealousness. Postmodernism claims irony as one of its defining aspects and, in truth, nothing could be more ironic than conservative Americans getting their hackles raised by Madonna.    Although Madonna may be the very model of a modern leftist in terms of social liberalism, in fact she is the very apotheosis of conservative economic thought. It is not going too far, to be completely honest, to say that Madonna and her career can be considered personifications of Louis Althusser's conception of the machinery of capitalist ideology.

As with most things postmodern, Althusserian ideology represents a relationship that is "real" only in a subjective sense. For Althusser, ideology "represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence." The very idea of classic Marxist false consciousness is stripped of existence by Althusser; falseness on the one hand presupposes truth and reality on the other. What could be more postmodern than to suggest that even our own consciousness is open to interpretation? Althusser goes on to introduce his theory of contradiction and overdetermination, more succinctly explained by John Fiske who wrote that ideology is "constantly in process, constantly reproducing itself." Substitute the word Madonna for ideology and that sentence still makes perfect sense.

Madonna's career has been one of continuous reproduction of herself. Madonna is on the conservative, capitalist side of the argument that Marx is making a point against when he writes, "The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society." This is exactly what Althusser is talking about when he theorizes that the capitalist ideology must constantly reinvent and reproduce itself just to survive, must less prosper.  MORE....

Madonna, Postmodernism and Capitalism, Part II

Part I of this analysis of Madonna as an icon of conservative capitalist theory dealt mainly with Madonna’s construction of her image and how she has successfully reconstructed herself seemingly at will, often in the face of conventional wisdom, and probably to the consternation of her record company’s executives. I took exception to the general consensus that by focusing upon the changing image, zeroing in especially on transforming the feminist undertones of explicit sexuality, Madonna has subverted the patriarchal grip of corporate America. While the use of pastiche and irony perhaps separates Madonna from more traditional, modernist artists, nonetheless all the parody and ambiguity in the world doesn’t hide the fact that she is really no less a machine of the capitalist system than, say, Celine Dion or even Michael Jackson. And yet, Celine has so far managed to be successful without changing her image every few years. While there seems to be little room for argument that Madonna’s artistic endeavors have been far more interesting than Dion’s, there is also little argument that Madonna is considered a less talented a singer. The question therefore is how long Celine Dion’s fans will consume her singularly branded style before they get bored. Did Madonna realize that her “Boy Toy” act had no lasting power, and that if she wanted her career to continue she would be forced to reproduce herself?  MORE....