Arrested Development and Philosophy_ They've Made a Huge Mistake - Kristopher G. Phillips [29]
George’s socioeconomic role as a capitalist manifests itself in (1) his pathological inability to give up control (even when it strains his relationship with his children, such as his manipulation of his sons to fight each other for Boyfights), (2) his highly competitive nature (which also damages their relationships, again revealed by the Boyfights fiasco), (3) his commodification of all aspects of himself and his family (showing that he views himself as only a tool for his own profit making and not as an objectively valuable person), (4) his creating things to be profitable rather than to have pride in creating things well, and (5) his persistent womanizing, revealed by his sleeping with Kitty despite thinking of her as crazy. In fact, even George Sr.’s troubles with the law (and not just in Judge Reinhold’s courtroom) stem from his violation of other capitalist’s privileges. The Bluth Company is publicly traded, and thus when he uses company money as personal money, he is stealing the money of the other owners, other capitalists. Additionally, he gets in trouble with the U.S. government for selling mini-mansions to Saddam Hussein, violating the international-relations policies of his country (where his country’s duty is to secure the privileges of its domestic capitalists). As Marx would predict, George Sr. does not actively experience his alienation from his family or himself because such separation brings him power and money. Nonetheless, he manifests alienation from both his true self (which could act in a way not dictated by profitability and competition) and in his interpersonal relationships.
Lucille and Gob
Lucille Bluth is George Sr.’s wife and co-chair of the Bluth Company, always holding at least as much power in the family and company as George Sr. Like George Sr., Lucille’s relationships are defined in terms of power and control. She manipulates her children, plays them against each other, and gets pleasure from withholding love and benefits from them. Her need to dominate also causes her to compete with and hate perhaps her only possible friend, Lucille 2.
Lucille is more concerned with her appearance to others than her actual character and personal development. Her superficial materialism manifests itself in lavish spending and an extravagant lifestyle. Conspicuous consumption (a term from the American non-Marxist economist Veblen, not Marx) as a sign of luxury is a sign in any class-based society of being among the ruling class, those who are not only wealthy but who can afford to live impractically. Lucille’s negative traits, resulting from or supported by capitalism and her class position, alienate her from her relationships with family and potential friends. In short, Lucille’s negative traits reveal alienation from an independent and free, conscious self, caused or supported by the capitalist system. It’s no wonder she drinks.
George Oscar Bluth (Gob, for short) is a Segway-riding former professional magician, co-founder of the Magician’s Alliance, a group blackballing any magicians who reveal the secrets of tricks (although Gob would correct me for saying “tricks” rather than “illusions,” because, to him, “a trick is something a whore does for money”). Of course, he was blackballed himself after a news reporter revealed how a trick of his was performed. Since then, Gob has tried to get back into the Magicians’ Alliance while sometimes finding other work. Though his occupation as an entertainer would make him, in essence, a human commodity, Gob has benefited from the wealth of his family. Having an entertainment job that requires no expertise in anything practical (and the same can be said for his other early job, a stripper with Hot Cops), Gob is good at nothing at all. He messes things up so frequently that his tagline has become, “I’ve made a huge mistake.” Gob is absolutely impotent in practical affairs, a direct result of the division of labor in the capitalist system, keeping individuals like Gob to one fine-tuned and specific job rather than letting them gain