Transvestites, Communists, and Chris Craig

Warning: Talking in circles will ensue-

I really enjoyed Craig's example of the Marx's Communist Manifesto in the clothing store. I thought it was a great way to portray how society turns ideologies into material objects that can be bought and sold and, therefore, strips the ideology of its power. (I think that is what Marxist theory is trying to point out, anyway.) It also strikes me as humorous that the consumer that is buying these jeans to be radical and different is really just falling deeper into what they are supposively opposing. I think this what Craig means when he says, “American ruling class ideology continuously spins narratives that attempt to limit the working class’s ability to recognize and respond to its own subjugation." In this instance the ruling class is placing Marx's Communist Manifesto next to the jeans to make them look more dangerous and appealing. It makes the consumer feel like they're fighting the system or 'the man.' However, buying the jeans is just supporting the capitalist society. So really the ruling class is tricking us into supporting them.

I was, also, intrigued by Craig's notion that, "the ruling class appropriates those ideas which it finds most threatening. It commodifies them and mystifies their meaning, while also potentially taming the subversive behaviors that might result from them." I was talking to my friend Ben the other day (who has previously taken this class) and we discussed Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side. Does it strike anybody else as unusual that a song about transvestites and blowjobs can easily be played in a grocery or department store without anybody making a fuss about it? More than likely the grandmas and mothers in the store are humming right along with it as they push their children down the aisles. It's light rock sound deems it okay to talk about bathroom blowjobs in front of the children. It is funny how if you put the same lyrics behind some 'phat beats' and turned it into a rap song there would most likely be some fussing from the customers. It is weird how pop culture can turn something radical into a household name. Like when did punk rock become trendy? I'm pretty sure that was not the point in its origins. Chris Craig talks about how people wear Che Guevara on their t-shirts, trying to be revolutionary or making a their own message about society when they really just bought the t-shirt at some trendy store.

Alright, I am not really sure what I am saying anymore. I'll try back later.

Peace.
Juliana