Literary theory (Althusser) Answering discussion questions Assignment

Literary theory (Althusser) Answering discussion questions - Assignment Example Indeed, in Reading Capital, he points out that the retrospection of the past is not ideology, but serves, in his words, â€Å"the legitimate epistemological primacy of the present over the past.† This served as one of the sources of his criticism of the French communist party, as a criticism of ideology on epistemological grounds will always sit uncomfortably with those emotionally invested in a given ideology. His criticism in the same work of â€Å"subjective and arbitrary ideologies† on Marxist grounds suggests that discourse within ideology was not his aim. Similarly, there is the question of â€Å"complete† ideology. In Althusserian criticism, no ideology is ever complete, and any attempt by an ideology to fully control or dominate a text will only end up exposing the limitations of that ideology. One classic example is Frank Capra’s classic â€Å"message† film It’s A Wonderful Life, in which George Bailey triumphs over the machinations of the evil Mr. Potter, except insofar as he doesn’t. The film ends with Potter still fully in control of Bedford Falls, having suffered not so much as a moment’s inconvenience while George was wrestling with suicide.