Culture industry is a term coined by critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973)‚ who argued in the chapter of their book Dialectic of Enlightenment‚ ’The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception’‚ that popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods – through film‚ radio and magazines – to manipulate the masses into passivity; the easy pleasures available through consumption of popular culture make people docile and content‚ no
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Althusser‚ Ideology and Interpellation The French philosopher‚ Louis Althusser‚ first popularized the word in his seminal essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes towards an Investigation)” (Althusser‚ 1972). In the essay‚ Althusser explores the relationship between the state‚ modes of (re)producing power and ideology from a Marxist perspective‚ defining ideology as “the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence” (Althusser 1972: 162). In his definition
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The independent institute Frankfurt School was founded by Jewish intellectuals‚ Theodor Adorno‚ Max Horkheimer and Herbert Macuse within a Nazi empowered Germany in 1923. After relocating to various parts of America‚ gaining exposure from Los Angeles and Hollywood lifestyle‚ the school returned. They took a great concern in the analysis of popular culture and the Culture Industry that had affected Germany in the 1940s. Although these changes reshaped a nation over 70 years ago‚ Frankfurt School’s
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contemporary culture is formed. In ‘The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception’‚ Adorno and Horkheimer look at the concept of pseudo-individualisation and reveal how mass media follows the same formula but is delivered to the audience in different ways. The pinnacle of present day mass media is the social media site Facebook. The customisable user interface is a modern representation of Adorno and Horkheimers’ theory of standardisation and pseudo-individualisation. First of all we
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Adorno‚ originally from Germany‚ was exiled in 1933 and left the country looking for freedom from the dictatorship ruled by Adolf Hitler. However‚ instead he found himself surrounded by a new form of propaganda; the mass culture industry of America. Adorno and Horkheimer appeared to be quite critical of this mass culture industry and its impact on society and discuss the entertainment industry and how its shaped the world over time‚ for better and for worse. In their essay ‘The Culture Industry:
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a model to analyze some political processes‚ i.e. cultural production‚ cultural texts‚ political economy‚ audience reception and use of cultural artifacts (Kellner 1989 and 1995). As the key represents of the Frankfurt school‚ Horkheimer and T.W. Adorno did a lot of research about mass culture and they criticized that mass-produced culture aims to the entertainment whose purpose is appealing vast audience rather than making contribution to high art and it has a political implication as well which
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measure and are considered to reflect underlying personality types. Motivated by the events of the Second World War‚ a specific application of personality theory by Adorno et al. (1950) examined one personality type in depth. The authors aimed to test whether an authoritarian personality - as indicated by expression of
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Case Study #1 With the essay‚ On Popular Music‚ Theodore Adorno theorized that the average American was simply a mindless machine‚ programed with the popular music they found comfort in. Furthermore‚ Adorno speculated that all popular music was nothing but the same song with minor changes. This repetition puts people at ease and allows the songs themselves to have a degree of control over the listener. The control is then perfected through a number of effects including glamour‚ baby talk‚ rhythm
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show – a form of popular culture - drew more than 30 million audiences an episode‚ and although over the years‚ overall viewership declined‚ the show appeared to be in little danger of losing its popularity (Wyatt‚ 2009). Marxist-inspired theorist Adorno argued that popular culture‚ as products of the culture industry‚ served to maintain the stability of capitalism (1941). As a commodified cultural product‚ ‘Idol’ became a ‘cash cow’ for its conglomeration of owners which comprised of Fox Network
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Sociological Theory Eric ofosu-Asare This review is based on chapter 4 “Slamming Society: Critical Theory and Situationsim” in Mann’s textbook of “Understanding Society”. Within this chapter are the theorists Hegel‚ Freud‚ Adorno‚ Marcuse‚ and Lasch. Each main theorist’s argument will be presented and reviewed. Hegel’s theory is the journey of reason and argued on absolute idealism. Absolute idea is a theory that the essential nature of reality lies in the consciousness
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