Beyond the Left: The Communist Critique of the Media

by Stephen Harper

The ideological distortions of the conservative media, from Fox News to the Daily Mail, are widely acknowledged and often denounced among contemporary critics and commentators. But what if The Guardian newspaper and BBC news, in fact, constitute the most insidious forms of capitalist propaganda? In a wide-ranging and erudite polemic, Beyond the Left analyses capitalist news and current affairs media from a radical perspective. The book rejects the liberal and pluralist paradigms that often underpin critiques of the media, showing how media texts reflect and reinforce the material interests of the ruling class and arguing that the principal ideological menace today is posed not by the right wing, but by the left-liberal media, as it co-opts and obscures radical political positions and reinforces a range of mystifications, from anti-fascism and ‘humanitarian war’ to ‘green politics’. Drawing on the work of radical media critics as well as the writings of revolutionary communist groups and considering the recent reporting of war, industrial action, immigration and the environment, Beyond the Left updates and recharges the Marxist critique of the media.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

121 pages, Paperback

Published January 27, 2012

About the author

Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His research interests span political and social issues in British television, critical theory and cultural geopolitics. He has written academic articles on a wide range of subjects including British television drama and documentary, dramatic representations of war and media representations of mental distress. He is also the author of Madness, Power and the Media (Palgrave, 2009) and Beyond the Left: The Communist Critique of the Media (Zer0 Books, 2012).

Reviews

[Karlo Mikhail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's framework is good overall but it gets bogged down in citing examples from the Anglo-American media and political events. I'm disappointed it didnt spend more time synthesizing and raising all these empirical facts to the level of theory (much like what Althusser did for ideology--though I don't agree with everything the old git said). Nevertheless, it can serve well as an introduction to a basic Marxist conception of the mass media minus the postMarxist penchant of watering down Marx's classical insights on the superstructure's relation to the question of property relations and the class struggle. More critiques like this should be written.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable comparative media study with many useful anecdotes and examples drawn from the media and pop culture to frame the study from a strong Marxist standpoint.

Minor point would be that all the examples mentioned are from Britain, it can be hard to follow for anyone outside the British Isles unfamiliar with the material he discusses.

Overall I found this a very enjoyable read which a drew a lot from.

[Andrew Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was really informative, and placed its critique of the media in a way that often gets forgotten. Yep, even the liberal media in all its "fairness" ultimately serves the interest of the ruling class. There were a few particular awesome quotable sections. My only giving it 4 stars comes from a disagreement with a chapter saying that anti-fascism is a way for liberals to get radicals to favor liberal-democracy (it can be, but the author also said that we don't face a fascist threat and I think that to be a little too optimistic), and also the use of the phrase "anarchy of the market". C'mon now. Otherwise, critiques aside, I learned a bit about international politics they *didn't* teach me in my political science classes, and I thought it was all the more worth it.