Glengarry Glen Ross: Capitalist Dehumanization and Marxism

Karl Marx said, in "The Communist Manifesto" that: "The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation" (659). This is illustrated through the brutal dehumanization of the salesmen and families in the "pep talk" scene of Glengarry Glen Ross. As Alec Baldwin's character, the successful sales rep turned executive, completely destroys the self esteem of the three men in the meeting, he also expresses how little family means in the business world. He exhibits not only the above Marx quote but also Freudian concepts of the roles of women and men. The home represents the feminine and also represents the weak and meaningless, while the workplace represents masculine success and drive. In this scene, Baldwin's character never gives himself a name, only uses his belongings to represent himself, such as his watch, his car, and his annual earnings in a dollar amount. When Levine appears maddened and unhappy with the pep-talk, Baldwin's character tells him to "go home and cry to [his] wife." In this exchange, the idea of weak=family/strong=work is expressed. Baldwin's character also tells another worker that if he wanted to be a family man he should go home and play with his kids. In both instances, the value of family is seen as next to nothing, while all value is put on these men selling and becoming monetarily useful. This aspect of the scene portrays the darkest manifestations of the bourgeoisie implications on society. All value is put on what the men own, or what they do not, and what they can do to earn more and become more like Baldwin's character. He places all value on his own possessions and sees these men as completely worthless because they have not shown the drive to be where he is financially. Not only are these men seen as nothing but a means to an end, but the same is true for the "leads" which become only pieces of paper that lead to money, instead of human names and information. This scene is a true depiction of how far capitalism reaches in the minds of men who embrace it.

Cain, Finke, Johnson, Leitch, McGowan, Sharpley-Witing, Williams, eds. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.

Glengarry Glen Ross. Dir. James Foley. Alec Baldwin. Jack Lemmon. New Line Cinema. 1992. Film.

Marx, Karl and Freidrich Engels. "From The Communist Manifesto." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 657-60.