Criticism of Capitalist Ideology in American Cinematic Representations: An Analysis of the Film The Menu
Abstract
This study examines The Menu (2022) as a form of contemporary literary text through a Marxist literary approach. Within the field of English literary and cultural studies, film can be analyzed as a narrative text that reflects social and ideological issues. While previous studies have explored symbolic and cultural aspects of the film, limited attention has been given to the representation of creative labor within a literary-critical framework. This study employs a descriptive qualitative method using narrative and symbolic analysis to investigate how characterization, dialogue, and visual elements construct meanings related to class relations and capitalist ideology. Drawing on the theory of Karl Marx, particularly the concepts of alienation and commodification, the findings reveal that the film represents the transformation of creative labor into commodified objects within capitalist systems. The study contributes to English literary studies by demonstrating how contemporary cinematic texts function as sites of ideological critique and literary representation.
Keywords
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v11i3.2578
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