THE WORK OF ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION, THE BICYCLE THIEVES, ON THE WATERFRONT

As we have discussed about Marxist critics, they look for underline meanings and deeper analysis of a piece of work. Details that may seem to have little importance can turn out to be of significance. Things such as setting, descriptions of characters, the usage of language, etc,. are interpreted for excessive background information which may be useful.
In both The Bicycle Thieves and On the Waterfront, both showed the struggles of the working class trying to benefit and raise their social status. They attempt to get whatever possible jobs they could. Even with all the effort that showed, they were still “stuck” in that social status with no relief. In the Bicycle Thieves, the men were bricklayers. When asked why they couldn’t get a real job they were told “that’s a different category,” meaning lower status. Even though they had the equipment necessary for a higher job position, they were bricklayers and stayed as bricklayers. Similar to the Rudolph story we previously read, elves had the role to make toys and could not obtain a position above that. Walter Benjamin mentioned in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, “… he offers not only his labor but also his whole self, his heart and soul.” This reminded me of what the people had to go through to be as financially stable as possible. If it meant selling important items they needed in daily life, they would. Another line in Benjamin’s piece sounded like the situation in On the Waterfront and the Bicycle Thieves. “Work itself is given a voice. To present it verbally is part of a man’s ability to perform the work.” As we saw in the videos, the working class seemed to be competitive and aggressive in order for them to receive as much work as possible. No matter how much effort they demonstrated, the system of the capitalist economy had all the control within their hands.