Marx Reloaded
Encyclopedia
Marx Reloaded is a 2011
German
documentary film
written and directed by the British
writer and theorist Jason Barker
. Featuring interviews with several well-known philosophers, the film aims to examine the relevance of Karl Marx
's ideas in relation to the global economic and financial crisis of 2008–09.
's ideas for understanding the global economic and financial crisis of 2008–09” and further asks, in the context of an alleged revival of Marxist thinking, whether “communism might provide the solution to the growing economic and environmental challenges facing the planet”.
and Communist ideas, including John Gray, Michael Hardt
, Antonio Negri
, Nina Power
, Jacques Rancière
, Peter Sloterdijk
, Alberto Toscano
and Slavoj Žižek
. The film also includes animation
scenes with Marx trapped in a surreal world resembling the 1999 science fiction
-action film
The Matrix
, which starred Keanu Reeves
and Laurence Fishburne
. In one such animated scene Marx (Jason Barker
) encounters Leon Trotsky
(Ivan Nikolic) in a pastiche of the scene in The Matrix
in which Fishburne's character Morpheus
first meets Reeves' character Neo
.
on 11 April and was repeated on 20 April. The film was subsequently broadcast on the Romanian
television
channel B1 TV
on 12 August 2011, followed by a studio debate involving political analyst Dinu Flămând, journalist Cristian Tudor Popescu
and writer Vasile Ernu.
On 25 September 2011 the film was screened (out of competition) at the 2011 DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival
. The screening was followed by a panel discussion involving writer-director Jason Barker, Professor Taek-Gwang Lee of Kyung Hee University and Yongjune Park, the editor of Indigo, an English-language Korean humanities magazine. Both the film and director were the subject of national press coverage in the Hankook Ilbo
.
On 3 October 2011 the film had its Serbian premiere at the Centre for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade
, with further screenings planned in the same venue on 20, 21 and 24 October.
In an interview with the British blog New Left Project writer-director Jason Barker revealed that there were plans to screen the film at the
Marx Memorial Library
in late 2011.
2011 in film
The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
German
Cinema of Germany
Cinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written and directed by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer and theorist Jason Barker
Jason Barker
Jason Barker is a British theorist of contemporary French philosophy.Most notable for his translation and introductions to the philosophy of Alain Badiou, Barker draws on an eclectic range of influences, from Neoplatonism to Lacanian psychoanalysis....
. Featuring interviews with several well-known philosophers, the film aims to examine the relevance of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's ideas in relation to the global economic and financial crisis of 2008–09.
Background
According to the film’s website, “Marx Reloaded … examines the relevance of German socialist and philosopher Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's ideas for understanding the global economic and financial crisis of 2008–09” and further asks, in the context of an alleged revival of Marxist thinking, whether “communism might provide the solution to the growing economic and environmental challenges facing the planet”.
Film
Marx Reloaded features interviews with several well-known philosophers, among them those often associated with MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and Communist ideas, including John Gray, Michael Hardt
Michael Hardt
Michael Hardt is an American literary theorist and political philosopher perhaps best known for Empire, written with Antonio Negri and published in 2000...
, Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...
, Nina Power
Nina Power
Nina Power is a British philosopher, writer, journalist and academic. She is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Roehampton University. She is the co-editor of Alain Badiou's On Samuel Beckett and his Political Writings....
, Jacques Rancière
Jacques Rancière
Jacques Rancière is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris Jacques Rancière (born Algiers, 1940) is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee...
, Peter Sloterdijk
Peter Sloterdijk
Peter Sloterdijk is a German philosopher, television host, cultural scientist and essayist. He is a professor of philosophy and media theory at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He currently co-hosts the German show Im Glashaus: Das Philosophische Quartett.-Biography:Sloterdijk's father...
, Alberto Toscano
Alberto Toscano
Alberto Toscano is a cultural critic, social theorist, philosopher and translator best known to the English-speaking world for his translations of the work of Alain Badiou, including Badiou’s The Century and Logics of Worlds...
and Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
. The film also includes animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
scenes with Marx trapped in a surreal world resembling the 1999 science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
-action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, which starred Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
and Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
. In one such animated scene Marx (Jason Barker
Jason Barker
Jason Barker is a British theorist of contemporary French philosophy.Most notable for his translation and introductions to the philosophy of Alain Badiou, Barker draws on an eclectic range of influences, from Neoplatonism to Lacanian psychoanalysis....
) encounters Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
(Ivan Nikolic) in a pastiche of the scene in The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
in which Fishburne's character Morpheus
Morpheus
Morpheus may refer to:Characters*Morpheus , the principal god of dreams in the Greek mythology*Morpheus , a moniker for Dream, a fictional character in the comic book The Sandman...
first meets Reeves' character Neo
Neo
Neo is a prefix from the ancient Greek word for young "neos" which derived from the Proto-Indo European word for new "néwos".Neo may refer to:* Neo , the protagonist of the Matrix film series...
.
Reception
Marx Reloaded had its TV premiere on ArteArte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
on 11 April and was repeated on 20 April. The film was subsequently broadcast on the Romanian
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channel B1 TV
B1 TV
B1 TV is a Romanian television channel, which started broadcasting on December 14, 2001.-External links:*...
on 12 August 2011, followed by a studio debate involving political analyst Dinu Flămând, journalist Cristian Tudor Popescu
Cristian Tudor Popescu
Cristian Tudor Popescu is a Romanian journalist, essayist and short-story writer. Author of science fiction stories during his youth, he has also hosted talk shows for various television stations, and had contributions as a literary critic and translator...
and writer Vasile Ernu.
On 25 September 2011 the film was screened (out of competition) at the 2011 DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival
DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival
DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival is a film festival held in Paju, South Korea.The festival began in 2009 when the White Goose Award for best documentary was awarded to Defamation, directed by Yoav Shamir...
. The screening was followed by a panel discussion involving writer-director Jason Barker, Professor Taek-Gwang Lee of Kyung Hee University and Yongjune Park, the editor of Indigo, an English-language Korean humanities magazine. Both the film and director were the subject of national press coverage in the Hankook Ilbo
Hankook Ilbo
Hankook Ilbo is a vernacular daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is a sister paper of The Korea Times. "Hankook" means "Korea" in Korean....
.
On 3 October 2011 the film had its Serbian premiere at the Centre for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, with further screenings planned in the same venue on 20, 21 and 24 October.
In an interview with the British blog New Left Project writer-director Jason Barker revealed that there were plans to screen the film at the
Marx Memorial Library
Marx Memorial Library
The Marx Memorial Library in London holds more than 43,000 books, pamphlets and newspapers on Marxism, Scientific Socialism and Working class history. The library also features the fresco The worker of the future upsetting the economic chaos of the present by Jack Hastings, painted in 1935. It is...
in late 2011.
External links
- http://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/marx-in-der-matrix/4045006.htmlMarx Reloaded Review at Der TagesspiegelDer TagesspiegelDer Tagesspiegel is a classical liberal German daily newspaper...
(German site)] - Marx Reloaded Review at The Original Sonic Truth blog
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybvsZ7YjBL0Marx Reloaded trailer at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
] - Marx Reloaded blog (Korean site)