Marxism and cinema
Steve Jones discusses the role of cinema in capitalist society, and how socialism can develop this form of art to its full potential.
Art and literature
Arts and culture in crisis: Make the bosses pay!
Cultural institutions and venues are facing an existential threat. But the Tories have shown only callousness and contempt towards artists and the arts. Capitalism is killing our culture. We need a socialist fightback to save it.
British cinemas: The long kiss goodbye?
Cinephiles are hoping that the release of the new Christopher Nolan blockbuster ‘Tenet’ will save cinemas across the country. But the industry’s future remains uncertain. The demand for public ownership has never been so relevant.
Portraits from the pandemic: Artists highlight the role of NHS workers
Artist Nicholas Baldion explains how the art community is depicting the lives of those on the frontline in the fight against the pandemic, paying homage to workers in the NHS and elsewhere.
William Blake: breaking the mind-forg’d manacles
An exhibition of William Blake’s work has opened at the Tate. Blake was a political radical in his own time. Though limited by his bourgeois outlook, his work captured the horror and indignity of the emerging capitalist mode of production.
Review – “Red Star Over Russia”: The art of revolution
The “Red Star Over Russia” exhibition, which opened at the Tate Modern earlier this month, is the latest in a number of exhibitions marking the 1917 Russian Revolution centenary. Ben Curry reviews the fascinating collection of artwork, photography, and propoganda contained within this latest showcase.
In defence of Soviet art: a reply to Jonathan Jones
Joe Attard of the KCL Marxists discusses the new Royal Academy of the Arts exhibition on Russian Art: 1917-1932, and responds to Guardian art critic, Jonathan Jones, and his hypocritical tirade against the Russian Revolution, Lenin, and the Bolsheviks.
400 years since the death of Shakespeare: a revolutionary in literature – part four
In the final part of his series commemorating the life and ideas of the Bard, Alan Woods looks at Shakespeare’s poetic genius and examines the revolutionary role played by the writer in terms of the development of the English language.
400 years since the death of Shakespeare: a revolutionary in literature – part three
In the third and penultimate part of his series commemorating the life and ideas of the Bard, Alan Woods looks at the central role of politics, plots, and intrigues in Shakespeare’s plays, and – in particular – his attitude towards the idea of social revolution.
400 years since the death of Shakespeare: a revolutionary in literature – part two
We publish here the second of a four-part series by Alan Woods, commemorating the life and ideas of the Bard, 400 years since his death. In this part, Alan discusses the role of religion in Shakespeare’s plays and examines the transitory social conditions of the time in England, which had such a profound impact on this literary giant.
400 years since the death of Shakespeare: a revolutionary in literature – part one
Shakespeare transformed English literature, reaching heights that before were unheard of and which have not been reached subsequently. His impact on world literature was arguably greater than any other writer. In the first of a four-part series, Alan Woods commemorates the life and ideas of the Bard, 400 years since his death.
Art and socialism
At the recent Red October 2015 event, Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – gave a talk on Marxism and Art. We publish here some thoughts on the topic by Kit MacDougall of the Glasgow Marxists, based on the discussion at Red October.