Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno wrote “The Cultural Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” in 1944. In this work, they touch on how capitalism using all media to deceive the public into thinking what the ruling class wants.
Things produced with the appearance of being a form of art are in fact not art at all. Rather, they are just produced and exploited in a way that is entirely profit driven. The authors were writing this back in 1944, but I believe this is present in the world today more than ever. Hollywood is one of the worst proponents of this. Hollywood is almost entirely about money. And if the film is not directly just made to make money, then they are trying to influence the viewers in a way that is ultimately about making the ruling class money. Think about all of the sequels of today, they are rarely better the original, but they are usually the films that make the most in the box office for a couple of weeks. This is generally obvious, and if you look at it in a critical way for even a short time then it will pop out to most.
Yet there is another aspect to these forms of media that the authors talk about. They talk about how all of these films, although they appear original, are often created and presented in a somewhat familiar way. They argue that everything is made for consumer culture under the same scheme, that they are all made from recycled formulas made over and over. This way it is easy for the consumer to digest. Think about almost every superhero movie ever. They usually follow the same basic formula of a “hero's’ journey.” And they are almost always number one at the box office, and often by a substantial margin. They are easy to digest. They are mindless. And they make the ruling class billions of dollars.
I could go into this deeper, talking about how this is all done just to distract the public, and to keep them entertained while the ruling class quietly deceives the public, leading them like sheep at their will. But I will wait until after class and will touch on that in my post blog.
Things produced with the appearance of being a form of art are in fact not art at all. Rather, they are just produced and exploited in a way that is entirely profit driven. The authors were writing this back in 1944, but I believe this is present in the world today more than ever. Hollywood is one of the worst proponents of this. Hollywood is almost entirely about money. And if the film is not directly just made to make money, then they are trying to influence the viewers in a way that is ultimately about making the ruling class money. Think about all of the sequels of today, they are rarely better the original, but they are usually the films that make the most in the box office for a couple of weeks. This is generally obvious, and if you look at it in a critical way for even a short time then it will pop out to most.
Yet there is another aspect to these forms of media that the authors talk about. They talk about how all of these films, although they appear original, are often created and presented in a somewhat familiar way. They argue that everything is made for consumer culture under the same scheme, that they are all made from recycled formulas made over and over. This way it is easy for the consumer to digest. Think about almost every superhero movie ever. They usually follow the same basic formula of a “hero's’ journey.” And they are almost always number one at the box office, and often by a substantial margin. They are easy to digest. They are mindless. And they make the ruling class billions of dollars.
I could go into this deeper, talking about how this is all done just to distract the public, and to keep them entertained while the ruling class quietly deceives the public, leading them like sheep at their will. But I will wait until after class and will touch on that in my post blog.
Horkeimer and Adorno view the culture industry as a weapon of the bourgeoise to maintain the status quo and reflect the ideologies prominent in the ruling class.
ReplyDeleteWhile scathing, their analysis is not incorrect. Horkeimer and Adorno hark back to Marx as he ascertains that ruling ideologies are by and large ruled propagated by the ruling class to preserve the enduring status of the bourgoise.
Horkeimer and Adorno view media as an effective vehicle in the dissemination of ideology. Media effectively convinces the general public into becoming passive consumers. One of the easiest examples of this is fashion.
High fashion brands such as Gucci, Kith, Louis Vuitton essentially determine the consumption patterns of the fashion world at large. The designs they create are instantly adopted by influencers, models, and smaller brands. Style rarely occurs as a ground up phenomena— it is almost always exclusively pre-determined by the models and collections released by various high fashion brands. Most consumers passively consume the objects and releases touted as high fashion, with little to no critical thought.
Many trends in fashion are deemed downright ridiculous— however, after such fashions and trends are adopted by haute couture fashion house, celebrities, and models— the general public is widely convinced that this object, however ridiculous it may appear to be, is exactly what they need.
The idea of high fashion, haute couture, and eventually street wear consumption is only perpetuated by the culture industry. There is seldom another factor that drives the consumption patterns of fashion.
Furthermore, the continued consumption of fashion benefits only the well established fashion house, such as Gucci or Louis Vuitton (owned by the multi-billion dollar LVMH luxury goods conglomerate).