The Bicycle Thieves, On The Waterfront, and Benjamin

Both The Bicycle Thieves and On The Waterfront have qualities that a Marxist critic would be interested in pointing out. The Bicycle Thieves enforces class interpretations and characteristics of certain classes many times within the film. When Ricci was given the job to hang posters, a bricklayer asked if he could have the job and the response he received was that his job was in a different category and that the employment office had no jobs for "you people". The use of the term "you people" would already give a Marxist critic fuel for the fire, immediately showing the films recognition of the worker being in a different category. The bricklayer stated that being a bricklayer would leave him to rot and die from hunger. A Marxist critic can point out that the bricklayer is stuck in his category with no chance for social mobility. In his writing, Benjamin discusses the idea of the reproduction of art and its effects. "And what is really jeopardized when the historical testimony is affected is the authority of the object." (Benjamin) Like a work of art, the reproduction of the same job throughout history gives this job no authority. The person who is stuck with this job now does the same thing that many other people do, leaving him with less oppurtunity for work (like a work of art loses authority when there is more than one). Later in the clip, we learn that in order to have this job, Ricci needs a bicycle. He has the sell his sheets in order to get money for this bike. A Marxist critic can see that Ricci and his wife (I assume it is his wife or girlfriend) made their decision to sell their sheets based on capital and material goods. Ricci's character in this film portrayed a working class man struggling within his class limitations. Ricci's place in society had to do with the production of material goods and what his job was. "Experts have long recognized that in the film 'the greatest effects are almost always obtained by "acting" as little as possible..." (Benjamin) This story was not a far fetched, action packed story with an over the top character. Ricci's character is believable of a person in everyday life situations, there was no need to act in order to send out the messages to the audience effectively.
On The Waterfront also gives the audience a look at class interpretations. A bunch of men, obviously portrayed as the working class, were waiting by the dock for jobs. Once there are no more jobs, a man (who is clearly part of the upper class) throws money on the floor and watches the workers fight over the money while he stands by laughing. Before the money was the on the floor, the workers were talking fairly nicely with each other in a civilized manner and once the money came out, the rush and fighting broke lose. A Marxist critic can say many things about this one scene. First, the differences regarding class is the obvious statement. Furthermore, a Marxists critic can see that the actions of the workers are driven by money and that the upper class man would see their actions (going from civilized to uncivilized) as expected of them, further implying that there is surely a difference between classes. He wasn't shocked or surprised, he laughed like he knew what would happen and also purely for his own enjoyment. "The horrible features of imperialistic warfare are attributed to the discrepancy between the tremendous means of production and their inadequate utilization in the process of production- in other words, to unemployment and lack of markets." (Benjamin) While the small pushing fight that broke out over the money was not to the extent of an all out war, A Marxist critic could see how violence breaks out so quickly when there is no money and lack of work.
These two films are able to be analyzed under a Marxist interpretation. "In the same way today, by the absolute emphasis on its exhibition value the work of art becomes a creation with entirely new functions, among which the one we are conscious of, the artistic function, later may be recognized as incidental." (Benjamin) Just as art can be recognized for new functions, Marxist critics recognize the new functions of these two films under a Marxist interpretation. After being able to see the underlying functions of the films, one may even see the obvious story line as the incidental part.