Marxists at the Movies

Marxists At The Movies
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Marxists at the Movies is a radical media podcast from CineMarch Media 🎥🔨 Hosted by Edward Michael Francis (they/them/theirs) Each week, we dissect one film, TV, music, books, and gaming through a communist lens—unpacking labor, class, queer subtext, and unintentional revolutionary messaging in mainstream cinema. From camp classics to capitalist cautionary tales, we read between the reels to expose what the script doesn’t tell you 📽️🌹 New episodes drop every Saturday on Patreon, then publicly on Wednesday Visit www.cinemarchmedia.com and patreon.com/cinemarchmedia for more information.

  1. Apr 22

    S2E2 - The Breakfast Club (1985): The Revolution That Stayed in the Library

    🎬 The Breakfast Club (1985): The Revolution That Stayed in the Library It's April, and we're crashing Saturday detention — Marxist-style. 🏫✊ Marxists at the Movies takes John Hughes's generation-defining classic through a dual-track analysis: Marxist critique meets developmental psychology and neuroscience. We're talking Baumrind's parenting styles, Elkind's Imaginary Audience, Hot Cognition, and the specific way high-control environments shape the adolescent brain — and the film that almost named all of it but flinched at the last second. We cover the studio interference that lobotomized the original cut, the toxic relationship modeling nobody interrogated in 1985, the blinding whiteness of Shermer's "universal" empathy — and we make the case that Ally Sheedy essentially co-wrote this movie and got a makeover scene for her trouble. 🎨❄️ This month's Comrade of the Week? You already know. Don't you forget about her. 🐱 Executive Producer Myron approves this message from a sunny windowsill. ⏰ Patreon members got this one a full month early! Join the CineMarch Media Information Club at patreon.com/cinemarchmedia — Marxists at the Movies starts at just $7/month, or go Full Spectrum Comrade at $12/month and add CultFroggy to your roster. 🌐 Everything we do lives at cinemarchmedia.com Leftist nostalgia for the people. 📽️🔨

    49 min

  2. Mar 25

    S1E43 - Yentl (1983): The Cost of Truth

    Visit ⁠⁠www.cinemarchmedia.com⁠⁠ and patreon.com/cinemarchmedia to support the work.In this episode of Marxists at the Movies, we dismantle the yeshiva as an ideological site in Barbra Streisand’s Yentl (1983) — viewing it not just as a musical debut, but as a fifteen-year cage match of attrition against the Hollywood patriarchy.While often remembered as a feminist fable or a "novelty premise," Yentl is something more rigorous: a study of forbidden knowledge and the brutal mechanics of exclusion. It is a film where the need for total control functions as both a survival strategy and a creative prison. The camera doesn’t just capture a performance; it documents a woman clutching her directing monitor for dear life, transforming a decade of rejection into a symbolic test case for female authorship.We examine the film as a workplace of intellectual production: where the pursuit of truth is a commodity denied to the feminine, and where "precision" stops being professionalism and starts functioning as armor. From the clandestine study of the Talmud to the non-diegetic interior monologues, Yentl reveals how intensity and ambition can only be made "respectable" through the tightest possible calibration.This isn’t a simple critique of the musical.It’s an analysis of how cultural meaning is vindicated through a struggle against the means of production.This is not just a song.This is a defense.This is the cost of truth — rehearsed down to the syllable.If Yentl once felt like a triumphant arrival — we’re asking what was lost in the "fifteen-year war" to get it made.And why the industry found a woman handling millions of dollars so threatening.And yes — Myron is listening too, tail twitching in approval from their usual spot.

    44 min

  3. Feb 25

    S1E42 - Madonna - Truth Or Dare (1991): Machine of Queer Extraction

    Visit ⁠www.cinemarchmedia.com⁠ and patreon.com/cinemarchmedia to support the work. In this episode of Marxists at the Movies, we step inside Madonna’s Truth or Dare (1991) — not as a tour documentary, but as a tightly engineered system of labor, intimacy, and queer visibility under capitalism. Often remembered as scandal, provocation, or queer breakthrough, Truth or Dare is something more precise — and more unsettling. It is a machine that extracts authenticity, vulnerability, and cultural transgression, then repackages them as brand reinforcement. The camera doesn’t just observe Madonna’s orbit; it disciplines it. Desire is curated. Boundaries are tested selectively. Queerness is invited in — but only as long as it performs, entertains, and stabilizes the center of power. We examine the film as a workplace disguised as a confessional: dancers competing for proximity, loyalty framed as love, and intimacy staged as access. From the ballroom scene to the backstage rituals, Truth or Dare reveals how queer labor is spotlighted, aestheticized, and consumed — while remaining structurally disposable. This isn’t a takedown of Madonna’s artistry.It’s an analysis of how cultural icons function inside late-capitalist spectacle. This is not rebellion.This is extraction. This is queerness at work — smiling for the camera. If Truth or Dare once felt thrilling, dangerous, or liberating — we’re asking why. And who paid the cost. And yes — Myron is listening too, tail twitching in approval from their usual spot.

    51 min

  4. Feb 8

    S1E41 - MUSIC - New Kids on the Block - Step By Step (1990): The Backstage Bedroom

    We’re back — after an extended break — and truly, thank you for your patience. 🖤 Marxists at the Movies (Music) has reopened the backstage door, fluffed the pillows, and turned the camera back on. Visit ⁠www.cinemarchmedia.com⁠ and ⁠patreon.com/cinemarchmedia⁠ to support the work. In this episode, we step into New Kids on the Block’s 1990 blockbuster Step by Step — an album that didn’t just dominate the charts, but perfected the pop-industrial fantasy of access, intimacy, and desire. This is The Backstage Bedroom: the carefully staged illusion where fans are invited to feel close, chosen, and special… without ever touching the machinery that’s actually running the show. We dig into NKOTB at their absolute commercial peak — post-Hangin’ Tough, pre-collapse — when boy band labor, gender performance, and teen devotion were engineered into a seamless, wildly profitable system. From the title track’s assembly-line momentum to the softer moments designed to simulate vulnerability, Step by Step reveals how pop masculinity is manufactured, softened, and sold — one heartthrob at a time. This isn’t nostalgia.This is labor.This is branding. This is desire under late capitalism, wearing a backwards baseball cap and asking you to trust him. If you’ve ever wondered why Step by Step felt both thrilling and strangely empty — we’re going there. If you’ve ever sensed that the bedroom was part of the product — welcome in. Thanks for sticking with us — truly. And yes, Myron is back too, tail twitching in approval from their preferred listening spot.

    49 min

  5. 12/03/2025

    S1E40 - MUSIC - Carly Simon - Come Upstairs (1980): Punk, Pain, and Power

    Visit www.cinemarchmedia.com and patreon.com/cinemarchmedia to support the work. This episode was supposed to drop during November’s Birthday Extravaganza, but better late than never — Edward’s birthday month has officially rolled straight into December. It’s that big of a deal. Even Myron has accepted this and is celebrating by twitching their tail in approval. In this Marxists at the Movies (Music) deep dive, we crack open Carly Simon’s 1980 album Come Upstairs — the messy, feral, genre-bending pivot where she kicked off the heels, walked past the polite singer-songwriter box, and plugged herself straight into the emotional wall socket. This is Carly at her rawest: punk edges, disco residue, and a whole lot of pain sharpened into power. We dig into the production choices, the cultural moment of 1980, and the way Carly tears through gender, desire, humiliation, and self-reinvention like she’s slicing through velvet wallpaper with a broken guitar string. If you’ve never heard Jesse the way a Marxist hears it — buckle up. If you’ve never considered Take Me as I Am a class war anthem — welcome. If you’ve ever felt like the ‘80s began with one woman kicking down the door — that woman was Carly Simon. And for the comrades at the $10 Hammer and Visionary tier, don’t miss this week’s Patreon Bonus Episode — an in-depth Marxist analysis of Carly’s spellbinding track “Boys in the Trees.” Thanks for listening, comrades — and Myron says hi from their winter perch. #cinemarchmedia #MarxistsAtTheMovies #MarxistsAtTheMusic #Communism #Socialism #CarlySimon #ComeUpstairs #1980Music #AlbumAnalysis #MikeManieri #LeftistMediaCritique #MusicHistory #ExCult #CultSurvivor #CultAwareness #CultRecovery #MyronTheCat #SidMcGinnis

    1h 12m

  6. 11/12/2025

    S1E39 - TV SPOTLIGHT - Mystery Science Theater 3000 Part 1: The KTMA/Comedy Central Years (1988-1996): Silhouettes Against Power

    🎧 ⁠www.cinemarchmedia.com⁠ | ⁠patreon.com/cinemarchmedia Support the show—and keep Myron’s treat jar full—by joining us on Patreon! Your support keeps this revolution rolling and helps us keep speaking truth (and sarcasm) to power. In this week’s TV Spotlight, we journey back to the KTMA and Comedy Central years (1988–1996) of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Born from a Minneapolis UHF station and built on duct tape, wisecracks, and proletarian imagination, MST3K didn’t just mock movies—it mocked hierarchy itself. This isn’t just a retrospective. MST3K is one of the foremost influences on our entire show—its anti-corporate spirit, DIY ethos, and subversive humor helped shape the voice of Marxists at the Movies. These were silhouettes not just against bad cinema, but against power itself. #MarxistsAtTheMovies #CineMarchMedia #MysteryScienceTheater3000 #MST3K #Communism #CultTV #MediaCritique #ExCult #CultAwareness #Communism #Socialism #Marxism #JoelHodgson #MikeNelson #MaryJoPehl #ComedyCentral #TV

    1h 6m

  7. 11/05/2025

    S1E38 - Ordinary People (1980): Portrait of a Family Drowning

    This is one of our most personal discussions yet — about grief, control, and the quiet revolutions that happen inside a family. Ordinary People isn’t just our favorite drama; it’s a mirror for what happens when love becomes performance and silence becomes survival. This episode is part of our November Birthday Month celebration — a chance for you to get to know our family a little better, including our honorary co-host, Myron the cat, who supervised this edit by purring through the final mix. Listen, think, feel, and maybe call home after. 🎧 Full archive and articles: www.cinemarchmedia.com💬 Support the show and get early access: patreon.com/cinemarchmedia🐾 Myron Merch: cinemarchmedia.com/myronmerch #CineMarchMedia #MarxistsAtTheMovies #OrdinaryPeople #Communism #FilmAnalysis #MoviePodcast #Socialism #LeftistMedia #RobertRedford #MaryTylerMoore #DonaldSutherland #JuddHirsch #TimothyHutton #Drama #FavoriteDrama #ExCult #CultAwareness #CultRecovery #Myron #CatCompanion #PTSD #Depression #Psychology

    57 min

  8. 10/29/2025

    S1E37 - MUSIC - The Innovators (1993): Capitalism's Accidentally Intentional Soundtrack

    Explore more at ⁠www.cinemarchmedia.com⁠. In this episode of Marxists at the Music, we dive into The Innovators (1993): Capitalism’s Accidentally Intentional Soundtrack. What happens when a supposedly “neutral” pop sound becomes the anthem of neoliberal optimism? Edward unpacks how corporate aesthetics, commercial pop, and cultural mood merged into one long, catchy sales pitch for capitalism — whether composers Kurt Bestor or Sam Cardon meant it or not. Featuring insight, humor, and a few purrs from Executive Producer Myron the Cat, this episode continues CineMarch Media’s mission to tell the truth about art under capitalism — and make it fun while we’re at it. Support independent leftist media and get early access to full articles and audio at patreon.com/cinemarchmedia.Grab official Myron Merch (because the cat deserves a cult of personality more than capitalism ever did) at cinemarchmedia.com/myronmerch. #CineMarchMedia #MarxistsAtTheMovies #MarxistsAtTheMusic #Communism #Socialism #MediaCritique #PopCulture #MusicAnalysis #LeftistPodcast #CriticalTheory #MyronTheCat #TheInnovators #KurtBestor #SamCardon #TrebleVMusic

    54 min
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About

Marxists at the Movies is a radical media podcast from CineMarch Media 🎥🔨 Hosted by Edward Michael Francis (they/them/theirs) Each week, we dissect one film, TV, music, books, and gaming through a communist lens—unpacking labor, class, queer subtext, and unintentional revolutionary messaging in mainstream cinema. From camp classics to capitalist cautionary tales, we read between the reels to expose what the script doesn’t tell you 📽️🌹 New episodes drop every Saturday on Patreon, then publicly on Wednesday Visit www.cinemarchmedia.com and patreon.com/cinemarchmedia for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Marxists At The Movies
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Marxists At The Movies
  • Show Website
    Marxists at the Movies