For “Reading Marx/Marx Lesen”, the Goethe-Institut has asked people in various cities in North America and Germany to select and read short quotations from Marx and to explain why these texts are still relevant today. The result is a kaleidoscope of voices that raise the key issues of our time and seek their solutions. We were surprised ourselves by what Marx has to say!
The oeuvre of films on Karl Marx is fairly accessible and easy to bundle into a series. It encompasses numerous feature films and documentaries that merely reference Marx or that focus solely on him.
Film list
On May 5th, 2018, Marx’s 200th birthday, the one-time-only multimedia experience, Dictionary of Marx, gave the chance to reencounter the work of the German economic philosopher Karl Marx. A dozen of Washington, DC’s most engaging presenter-performers came together at the Capital Fringe Theatre responding to key words from the Marxist lexicon in a series of artistic interpretations. From theater performances to musical works and from film to poetry, Dictionary of Marx explored these economic theories from today’s perspective. The viewer also had the chance to engage directly, whether in a creative writing workshop, a game of Anti-Monopoly, or a philosophic discussion at the bar.
Presented as part of the Goethe-Institut’s international series Marx Now, Dictionary of Marx was curated by John Feffer, novelist, playwright, and director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.
You can find the respective performance at the indicated time code:
Alienation, Regie Cabico (00:01:08)
History, Vanessa Wills (00:09:47)
Human Rights, Vincent Thomas (00:17:42)
Labor, Creative Feds (Erica Ginsberg & Leon Gerskovic; not recorded)
Materialism, Natalia Gleason-Nagy (00:29:18)
Private Property, Sami Miranda (00:37:56)
Proletariat, Joe Uehlein (00:49:06)
Resistance, Nu Sass Productions (Mary Myers; 01:05:49)
Revolution, Edgar Endress (01:20:57)
Socialism, Michael Kazin (01:30:37)
Utopia, Tanya Paperny (01:39:38)
Workers, Kiley Kraskouskas (Not Recorded)
Musicians for the event
Elena & Los Fulanos
Magpie
Maykas
The Goethe-Institut in North America is not alone in commemorating Marx’s 200th birthday – the anniversary has motivated a discussion of Marx and his theories on many levels among the Goethe-Institut wolrldwide. Here you will find a selection of articles on this topic.
