Marxism in the Film The Great Gatsby

The 2013 film The Great Gatsby is a film adaptation of a book by the same name written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film portrays a young man, Nick Carraway, and his interactions with a group of extremely wealthy people living on Long Island. The representations of class conflict between those excessively wealthy people and the working-class communities surrounding them, the failure of Gatsby’s American dream, and the catastrophic ending of the film all point to a critical Marxist point of view in Fitzgerald’s original text and in the film. It can be argued that this film, set in the context of the Great Depression, makes a clear argument against industrial capitalism and the privileged elite that this system creates.

An obvious example of Marxist ideas in the film can be seen in the interactions between the wealthy main characters and the poor working people living in the industrial wasteland outside of the city. It is clear by visual juxtaposition alone that the lives of these two groups are vastly and unjustly different. The group from “West Egg” drives lavish cars and lives in unimaginably vast mansions, while those in “the Valley of Ashes” live in shacks under a sky grey from the smoke and ash of industrial areas. Tom (the born rich elitist) only bothers to stop here to have affairs with peoples’ wives and have his car serviced. His clear disregard for the worth of these people is further shown in a scene in which he breaks the nose of his working-class mistress (Myrtle) simply for speaking the name of his wealthy wife (Daisy). The wealthy’s personal disregard for the lives of the poor is additionally highlighted when Gatsby and Daisy’s irresponsible behavior ends in the death of a resident of the industrial area. This excess of wealth and the lack of responsibility becomes a theme throughout the movie, focusing often on waste and pettiness. The wasteland of the industrial area shown in such stark contrast to the bright parties of Gatsby and the disregard of poor lives clearly is intended to invoke Marxist criticisms of the division of labor and the vastly disproportionate wealth that it creates.

The Marxist qualities and narratives of the film are further displayed through the history of the main character, Gatsby, and his failure to obtain the “American Dream.” We find in the movie that Gatsby is unlike the “old money” community that surrounds him. He was not born into wealth, rather he worked his way to riches from a poor background. In many ways, this is the beginning of a perfect American “bootstraps” story. We then come to find that Gatsby only made his fortune by illegal, possibly predatory, means. He associates with men that fixed the 1919 World Series and makes his money by complex bond schemes (likely similar to the type of banker cheating that led to the Great Depression). He refuses to explain to anyone how his money is made –– the film often implies partnerships with violent criminals. These details create a Marxist critique by showing the idea that wealthy people often make their money by exploiting the rest of the population and in the long run their ways of enriching themselves can create an economic crisis.

Additionally, we see Gatsby’s failure to live the American dream in his inability to find true happiness despite his wealth. His dream girl is a demanding aristocrat that wouldn’t look at him twice until he was absurdly wealthy. In the film, Gatsby admits to Nick that he made all of his money in order to impress Daisy. He throws giant parties all days of the week, buys boats and mansions, all to impress Daisy. Despite his best efforts, including changing his name and lying about his common background, he is unable to woo the picky Daisy. Finally, when Gatsby is killed, his funeral is attended only by journalists and media personnel attempting to make a dollar off a sensational story. The idea that the “self-made man” gets rich at others' expense and is still unable to find happiness is a clear Marxist argument that the American Dream is impossible and wealth does not lead to happier lives.

As the story goes, the wealthy upper class’s lives of excess and privilege only make matters worse for the working class and ultimately leave them unhappy or dead. The rich Tom and Daisy continue their failing charade of a marriage and attempt to flee the emotional damage that they have inflicted. The “Great” Gatsby is killed because of the vengeance of the working class husband of Tom’s mistress. The film’s narrator and main character Nick leaves West Egg disillusioned with the life of the ruling class and repeatedly condemns their recklessness and irresponsibility. In fact, he is so affected by the emotional trauma of this time period that he pens the book “Gatsby” from a sanatorium where he is recovering from alcoholism. This total catastrophe for all involved, mixed with the desperate poverty of those outside of their insular world, is a clear argument in the Marxist style that the economic systems that lead to this collection of wealth the Great Depression were and remain unjust and need to be changed.

Work Cited

The Great Gatsby. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Village Roadshow Pictures, 2013. DVD.