I.
The culture industry: enlightenment as mass deception, Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer
II.
Culture Industry
Gesamtkunstwerk
Anathema
Spontaneity
System of non-culture (stylized barbarity)
Propaganda
III.
Adorno and Horkheimer, like other theorists of the Frankfurt school, say that society is in a state of false consciousness produced by its interaction with and assimilation into popular culture. The false consciousness created by culture is perpetuated by capitalist modes of production. Adorno and Horkheimer refer to this as the "culture industry.” For them, popular culture (i.e. film, TV, radio, etc.) tells people they must be dedicated consumers in order to be a part of society (“something is provided for all so that none may escape”) and then convinces them that this is what they asked for to begin with—essentially acting as propaganda. Instead of producing that which they claim serves the needs and desires of the audience, Adorno and Horkheimer claim that the culture industry creates products that instead work to standardize the needs of the consumers, manipulating the consumer to believe that he or she likes or desires the product. They believe that popular culture has become mediocre and identical; in the hands of this "pop culture," society loses its ability to “nourish true freedom and individuality." They write, “Culture now impresses the same stamp on everything.” Society does not realize the deceptive qualities of the culture industry because it claims only to give people what they want. This is “no more than hot air,” according to Adorno and Horkheimer, pointing out the false claim that when a Beethoven symphony is crudely adapted for a film sound-track it is “done to satisfy the spontaneous wishes of the public." Adorno and Horkheimer claim that, like its content, popular culture creates a homogeneous audience and eventually society cannot distinguish between the real world and the world created by the culture industry because of its huge success and omnipresence. The real world and culture industry become inextricably intertwined.
Some criticize Adorno and Horkheimer in that they neglected to acknowledge the possibility of an active audience—an audience that may not blindly accept the watered down messages from popular culture. They argue that this theory does not account for popular culture’s trend towards market segmentation and diversity. Adorno and Horkheimer would probably counter this argument by reiterating that more choices in popular culture do not necessarily indicate freedom or individuality. Instead, the culture industry is only doing a better job at masking deceptive qualities.
As designers, we create cultural products. Considering Adorno and Horkheimer's argument should help us figure out whether the things we make are part of the "culture industry"—or whether or not we are part of the culture industry ourselves. We can also question whether or not the culture industry is necessarily a negative entity. Maybe the "universal" appeal of the culture industry gives people some common variables to which they can relate. Perhaps just because something is capable of being mass produced does not mean it is part of the "culture industry." Additionally, the "culture industry" under Adorno and Horkheimer's definition seems to be changing dramatically with the advent of interactive media. This gives media consumers and active role and voice, and forces culture to accommodate the consumers.
Kelly Murdoch-Kitt
Kelly Norris