Dr. Craig's post brings up many different and interesting points about Marxism, how it operates and some examples of how ideology potentially effects us everyday. The first interesting observation is the example of the copy of The Communist Manifesto on a table in a trendy clothing store. I find it intriguing that it was placed not only in this store, but also next to a replica of Rodin's Il Penser, almost an example of man thinking about his subjugation. As Dr. Craig points out the book at once invites the consumer to subscribe to the thought that they are willingly being different by purchasing these trendy jeans yet they are truly falling further into the consumer culture they are trying to fight. The next example of the commodification of Che Guevara's image also brings up a very good point, the idea that even people who think they are being "revolutionary" by expressing their views on their t-shirt are just victims of the ruling class as well. Without really knowing it these people are participating in hegemony, thinking they are spreading their "unique" message when really they are most likely purchasing t-shirts made in sweat shops and sold at inflated prices.

I also agree with Dr. Craig's example of professional sports as a way for the masses to be distracted from their conditions. While an avid sports fan myself, it is very easy to recognize the overall ludicrousy that is professional or major college sports. One goes to an event, often paying a good deal of money earned from hard work, to watch millionaires (players) play a game to make more money for billionaires (owners), yet people leave feeling entertained, their minds off of their everyday lives. This feeling of satisfaction is exactly how the owners, or the ruling class, want us to feel, oblivious or simply apathetic to the overall poor, relatively speaking, conditions that they have to return to work to. Yet sports is not the only institution that serves that purpose and I think this is where literature can also come into the picture.

A work of literature can serve the same purpose as the sporting event, that of a distraction. People can get caught up in the fantasy world of a novel, forgetting about their lives for a brief period of time and thinking they are in power for choosing which book they want to read or what author they enjoy. This is not to say that enjoying a novel is inherently a bad thing, as I said before I am a big sports fan, but the problem arises when you don't think a little more deeply about what you are doing. The literature you are reading has become a commodity, something for you to consume, and also serves as a way for people to turn a blind eye to their subjugation. By analyzing a novel or play through the Marxist eye, you not only get a better insight into the world in the novel or the time in which the author wrote it, but also into the world you are living in. Looking at something with Marxist Criticism allows you to begin to see the ideology of your own time as well as in the work of literature you are reading.