The dudes Theodor Adorno
Max Horkheimer
Frankfurt School
Enlightenment is progress?
America has huge produc9ve capacity in 1940s
The Culture Industry • Describes the industrial condi9ons in which culture is being produced • But also…the logic or the factory that informs cultural produc9on • Refers to a single system that explains the func9on of culture in contemporary society
The Culture Industry • Hollows out old categories of culture, like high art and folk culture • The culture industry replaces these things with falsehoods and “free selec9on” masquerading as free choice or democracy • Creates “mass decep9on”
Mass decep9on • Contemporary culture perpetuates the domina9on of human beings and nature under the veil of increasing freedom • Culture’s only role in contemporary society is to reproduce the values of capitalism • Fun is nothing more than “the prolonga9on of work”
3 important points about the produc9on of popular culture
1. Standardisa9on • Sameness and predictability in form and genre • Necessitated by mass commodifica9on of culture – turning culture into something that is bought and sold • Current obsession with “newness” – is it really new?
Also…Psuedo-‐Individualism
• Belief in one’s own individuality cons9tutes “pseudo-‐individualisa9on” • Enables standardisa9on to func9on • Makes “popular” culture (products of the culture industry) seem like genuine ar9s9c expressions.
2. Maintaining Status Quo • Popular culture only exists to maintain or reinforce the power of the status quo • Aims to distract people, not to engage them
3. Opposi9onal Possibili9es • Ar9s9c and cultural resistance has evaporated • Resistance is already factored in to the larger system • Rebellion keeps the system going
“something is provided for all so that none may escape”
Summary • Meaning and func9on of popular culture is determined by produc9on • By understanding how culture is produced we can understand how culture works (how it is consumed, what it means socially, etc) • Everything popular sucks
Cri9cisms • 1) Eli9st • 2) Historically limited • 3) Too totalising
What do you think?
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Popular Culture: “popular culture refers to the beliefs and practices, and the objects through which they are organized, that are widely shared among a population. This includes folk beliefs, practices and objects generated in the political and commercial centers. It includes elite cultural forms that have been popularized as well as popular forms that have been elevated to the museum tradition.” (M&S, 3-4)…
- 1412 Words
- 6 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Popular culture has no fixed forms because pop culture is made up from many different types of cultures which is always changing.…
- 146 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Culture can be basically defined as a pattern of learned behavior and ideas acquired by people as members of society. Culture was created in order to accommodate human beings in different society and establish their identity. Culture is not accustomed to one specific characteristic. It has a multiple dimensions. The way we talk, dress, eat, sleep, work and our knowledge and skills can be accustomed to our culture. These human manners are not uniform all over the place so, they change over time and space. Thus anthropologists have distinguished different cultural traditions different from one another with very thin line between them. And in the course people share, burrow and practice culture from one other. Cultural practices have become inevitable part of human being because we have become biologically dependent on culture for our own survival. For example human beings are not born with some natural instincts. In fact we depend upon the support, nurture and culture of our surroundings to survive. And by learning the cultural practice of the place we live in, we become mature enough to make rational decision and act for our own survival.…
- 659 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
5. According to Critical Theory, how does the culture industry promote and legitimate capitalist values in contemporary popular culture? What effect does this have on our society?…
- 898 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Critically discuss the negative and the positive impacts of the London Olympic Games from the perspective of all stakeholders, including the local community, the sponsors, the guests, the organisers, the volunteers and paid workers?…
- 631 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Some contemporary critics, however, propose that popular culture cannot defined as something commercial or even “popular”, and claim that in its subjective nature, it has evolved…
- 664 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Outline and evaluate the impact of new technologies on media organisations and the working lives of media professionals?…
- 1975 Words
- 8 Pages
Best Essays -
Professional counselors have the obligation to ensure quality and effective counseling toward clients. All the while, counselors are committed to the ethical guidelines that are established to avoid legal, professional malpractice and competent issues. Some of those guidelines consider dual relationships and professional boundaries. Counselors are not to engage in dual relationships with clients, supervisors, and coworkers, and also should be cautioned to prevent situations that may cause ethical boundary violations. However, after a client has completed treatment and has been terminated for some time, some of those rules tend to change. Therefore, counselors should be able to think logically while having criteria to make ethical decisions.…
- 2534 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The movie industry had benefited from the technology development such as the digital camera and digital screens in the sense of suspense and excitement. However, this technology had become a big challenge to the management in the motion picture industry value chain. This technology encourages the moviegoers to experience watching a movie at house with the same picture’s quality resolution and the sound’s effects as the theaters providing for audiences.…
- 1602 Words
- 7 Pages
Best Essays -
Marginalization of companies is the coming together of two or more companies that offer similar goods and services to form one legal entity. Several companies merge for the maximization of profits from their products, and reduce competition from other companies that perform similar duties. Over the years, several fashion companies have merged in the fashion industry. However, government involvement in the market economy aids in controlling and protecting both the consumer’s and the fashion industry itself.…
- 1265 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Abstract: What if you was in the Military and you was the boss in your section and you gotten a Muslim in your section that don’t understand nothing that goes on in your section, so the first sergeant tell you that you would have to sit down with him and explain everything to him/her would you be able to do it, you should that what you in the military for to meet different people and to learn their culture.…
- 516 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Our economic development will forever be defined as our ability to succeed internationally. PwC forecasts India’s real annual GDP growth until 2050 at 8.9 percent, Vietnam’s at 8.8 percent, and China’s at 5.9 percent. The list of fast-growing emerging markets goes on and on. The U.S. forecast is a meager 2.4 percent, comparable with most Western economies. The domestic companies that are likely to see incremental growth in the coming decades are those that are not only doing business internationally, but that are developing the strategic skill set to master doing business across cultures. Cross-cultural core competence is at the crux of today’s sustainable competitive advantage.…
- 1853 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
On March 15 2013, I arrived at P.S. 20 for an interview with Bilingual Social Worker, Mrs. Astrid Pacheco. The schools exact geographic location reads: 161 Park Avenue, Staten Island NY, 10302. It was obvious from the size of the building that this was a small school. Upon entering the main doors, I was greeted by the school’s safety agent who required detailed information for the purpose of our visit. After confirmation from Mrs. Pacheco, I was handed a pass, and the process began. The interview took place in a surprisingly small office. Mrs. Pacheco is the only Social Worker at the school, and she shares the tiny office space with four other employees: a Psychologist, A family Worker, an Occupational Therapist and a Physical Therapist. I immediately thought about client confidentiality, and if it were possible while sharing an already small office space.…
- 625 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
like The Simpsons and King of the Hill have been successfully aired on primetime TV.…
- 3080 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
they both make you cry -- one kind is because they are so sad and…
- 569 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays