Adorno and Horkheimers Negative View of Mass Culture - Article Example

Culture has been defined using different terms. This expresses different perceptions about culture. The simple understanding of culture is the way of life of people or how people live feel, belief, think and behave. Every individual can be identified or is supposed to identify with the particular culture. Culture is a social legacy transmitted from one generation to another. Various studies have shown that it is not easy to define a culture of a given community by what they do because some of the cultural practices are eminent in different communities (Baert & Silva, 2010). However, it is arguable that a culture of a given community or nation can be defined by what they do not do. Throughout history, culture has transfused from one community to another through interactions. In the contemporary society, the effects of globalization have increased interaction of cross-cultural communities. The availability of information through the internet, mass media, social media and other forms of information exchange has contributed to the diffusion of culture. There is an increasing adoption of mass culture propagated by media, corporation, religion, politics, globalization, magazines, radio and technology are creating a uniform system of culture across the community and national borders (Witkin, 2003, p.3). It is this emerging generality of mass culture Adorno and Horkheimer’s holds a negative view of which is the subject of this study. A person can be assimilated into a different culture by learning and practicing that culture. However, it is not appropriate for individual to view the culture of others as inferior or stereotype the culture of other people. This study examines the Adorno and Horkheimer’s negative view of mass culture. The analysis focuses on culture industry and how it impacts or differs from the genuine culture.

Culture is defined by the people’s way of life. It is what people believe and act. Culture is the description and understanding of a specific group of people characterised by their art, music, attitudes, beliefs, cookery, language, social practices, experience, religion, music and concepts of the universe. The culture is made by people for the people (Holohan, 2014). It is a reflection of collective behaviours and relations, perceptions and cognitive construct revealed through interactions.

Also, culture is determined by someone’s upbringing and education. All cultural practices and preferences are related to the level of education and social origin. The level of exposure creates a social hierarchy of consumers. The manner in which culture is acquired reflects in the way people live in that culture (Bourdieu 2009, p.499). The way people live cannot be defined by a set of rules to be followed by members of the society. It entails anything that people ought to know or believe to carry out themselves and a manner that can be tolerated by other members of the society (Baert & Silva, 2010). It is not a mechanistic approach that can be learned in a simplistic process, but instead one must live through. A person outside a certain culture cannot fully understand that culture or impose a meaning on the culture unless they live in that culture. Every culture has certain acceptable codes which social world is structured and experienced (Hebdig, 2005, p.121). The violation of these codes sets substantial authority to provoke and disturb.

Understanding of culture is crucial because it reflects the views people have about themselves and gives the significance of their social customs. Culture gives the world meaning because culture is made by the people and people live in culture. In other words, people and culture are inseparable (Holohan, 2014). The way people act means something about their origin and their community. Culture gives people identity and should be valued by what they believe in and how they act. It is the defining factor of each nation or each community. Consuming culture by reading work of art is provides a communication channel between the producer and the consumer (Simmel, 1998, p.179). It involves coding and decoding of practices that require mastery of the cultural language to achieve explicit coding of the culture.

Horkheimer and Adorno have presented an argument against the mass culture by examining various ways in which the culture industry has delineated consumers from their genuine culture. Their negative view of mass culture is centred on culture industry. Horkheimer and Adorno observed that culture industry was a product of historical developments culminating in technological advancement such as mass communication technology that made it possible for industries to produce commodities that facilitated mass consumption of goods (Whiteley,  Bennett & Hawkins,m2005). The utilisation of automatically reproduced cultural goods created a formula for producing those goods. For instance, the development of radio and film industry developed a formula for providing entertainment without the consumers realising that such entertainments had undisclosed purposes. Consequently, consumers adjusted their needs around those cultural products, and they could not think rationally of their other desires. Although the consumption of the entertainment provided by the mass media could not satisfy the consumers social, economic and political needs, they have blinded from question these systems (Naomi, 2010, p.14). The media entertainment allowed for replication of dominant systems to provide for more creation and utilization of media entertainment. The overall effect of culture industry was that those being influenced did not realize it while those dominating the systems got a chance to replicate the production of culture to further influence the consumption.

The differences in cultures imply different people have varying needs. Producers respond to the needs of consumers by providing goods and services required for each category of consumers (Adorno and Horkheimer 1997, p.120). These goods and services should reflect the needs and desire of individual consumers. However, in an economy dominated by monopoly producers the culture of mass production is resulting in the production of uniform goods for all consumers. The culture is defined by the technology the industry has adopted. It is assumed that the culture of technology represents millions of participants both consumers and producers with matching needs thus is acceptable to produce uniform products that can satisfy such needs. Adorno and Horkheimer argue that this culture of technology that focus on standardized products for all different consumers result in manipulation and retroactive need that further strengthens the unity of the structure (Adorno and Horkheimer 1997, p. 121). They further claim that technology acquires power over the culture by the individuals holding greatest power in the society. Therefore, this culture of technology depicts a culture of domination a few powerful individuals in the society.

Furthermore, the control of individual consciousness is restrains the power that would resist the central control of technology as manifested by mass production and standardization. The industry culture reflects the wishes and views of directors that imposed on the consumers and not the desires of the consumers (Dick, 2005, p. 122). The power of seniors to control needs of the consumers is manifested in mass production whereby the producers manufacture similar products by vary features such as colour, packaging and size so as to make them appear different yet they are the same things. In a culture industry producers create an illusion of variety whereby consumers are forced to believe there are different choices to make while in reality the value of what consumers buy has nothing to do with the variation of huge variation in the consumer budgets (Hall, 1992). This is to mean products of the same company are intended to provide uniform value to the consumers notwithstanding the cost variations they pay for conspicuous production.

The uniformity of consumption created by producers is also evident in the technical media. The culture of industry establishes a structure and a formula that all players are required to follow. The establishment of technical structure of doing things has compromised the quality of work itself. This is manifested in art industry whereby personal taste of colour has replaced the significance of pictorial composition while the single harmonic effect has overshadowed the form of music in its entirety (Adorno and Horkheimer 1997, p.125). The culture industry emphasizes on formula and has substituted the work. It has the effects of blurring consumers mind such that they cannot think. Adorno and Horkheimer uses an example of Germans who blindly took orders from Hitler under the influence of propaganda that forced them to believe Hitler was a god. The performed the Hitler’s order such as the execution of the Nazi Jews without taking into consideration the outcome of their actions. They made similar observations in the United States of America where capitalism seems to have stolen people’s intelligence. Capitalism is taking control over American’s mental faculty to the extent that they are unable to exercise their democratic rights.

Adorno and Horkheimer claims that capitalists are stimulating the economy of America through creation of pseudo needs among the people. Companies are using advertisements of products to persuade consumers into buying things they do not require in order to boost sales and stimulate economic growth. Marxism and critical theory supports the argument by Horkheimer and Adorno against mass culture as part of culture industry because such culture integrated the working class main cultural classification. “The culture industry created the conditions for the cultivation of false needs through advertising, the norms of consumerism and the institutions of the throw-away society” (Turner & Rojeck 2001, p.79). Critical theory claims that culture industry has contributed immensely to the survival of capitalism through promotional techniques, credit and hire purchase instruments, advertisement, encouraging mass consumption through creation of mass market mass communication, etc. these activities have enticed the working class into one the promotional culture and leisure society.

In a consumer culture industries are telling people what they need to buy. People no longer have the power and free will to choose what they want. Companies are convincing consumers that certain products are capable of solving non-existing needs, yet the real consumer needs are inadequately attended. This is affecting the cultural values whereby individuals should do what they should do to satisfy their needs. The culture industry compels all consumers into believing that a particular product can deliver universal satisfaction. People have no free will to express their views. Mass production of standardized goods is making consumers rely on choices made by a few powerful individuals in the society who have control over what organizations produce. Adorno and Horkheimer argue that culture industry is dangerous because it is killing democracy. Democracy is about individual rights to think and express their views regarding what they want to consume. The culture industry should be composed of various subcultures depicting the views and needs of different consumers. Subcultures should be the determinants of the culture industry.

Another observation Adorno and Horkheimer made regarding consumer culture was that it was creating an illusion of perfect life under capitalism. Marketers want people to believe that particular culture is superior to others and that all other people should emulate that “superior culture.” They want people to believe that whatever products they offer to the market are what consumers needs. However, the reality is that corporations use the available technology and influence of a few powerful people in the society to decide what to produce and then impose those products on the rest of the people (Hesmondhalgh, 2002). They influence demand for those products through advertisements to making people aware of their existence. Also, they convince consumers to buy those products because they are superior and capable of making them live superior lives.

When producers and marketers convince people about the existence of consumer culture they make everyone behave like consumers. Adorno and Horkheimer believe capitalism and media technology are responsible for emergence and growth of consumer culture. While capitalism depends on culture to market their products and increase revenue, they also depend on media technology to advertise to the public about the available products and convince them on what they should buy (De Certeau, 2009). The media is not interactive hence this has strengthened its hegemony. Even in the contemporary society where almost everyone is convinced that media is interactive in reality this position has not been attained because editors control what information is published by the media or shared by the clients over a given media. This implies the public lacks freedom of expressing their views in a truly democratic society.

The view of culture industry is that consumers are offered a broad choice of products from, which they should select bundles that suit their needs (Witkin, 2003, p.2) However, consumers lack input in this process of determining different of products being manufactured. The process is hijacked by capitalist who decide on the product mix to be produced with a goal of minimising cost and maximising revenue. A consumer culture is illusionary. The consumers are excluded from the production process therefore, what they consume does not reflect their wishes and needs. Adorno and Horkheimer asserts that for instance in the movie industry the production activities are done in the industry for the people and these people plays no role in the consumer culture when they discuss about the movies. This is not real culture because viewers are passive participant of the culture. They uses an example of music (such as Jazz music) to illustrate of how consumers have been deceived by mass culture to believe that they are part of the mass culture and that jazz music is a component of that culture (Bauman & Rovirosa-Madrazo, 2010). However, this music has no relation with the people’s culture and does not reflect the understanding and common value of the people.

Everything is made for the people and all they have to is seat and enjoy the products. Furthermore, movies are standardized to give the consumers similar uniform products all the time. All what changes are the scenes, characters and language, while the content or message delivers remains the same. This standardization does not meet the needs of the consumers because they fail to deliver better lives which they promise the consumers. Standardization results in repetitiveness which does not satisfy the emerging needs of the consumers.

Adorno and Horkheimer used the example of Tantalus to reveal about the unfulfilling nature of consumer culture. Tantalus appears in the Greek myth. It is said that Tantalus was tantalised for stealing the gods’ foods. He was put in dungeon with water that reached his neck where he was condemned to live eternally (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1997). Therefore, whenever he felt thirty and bent to drink water the water drained and whenever he raised his head to bite the fruit above his head the fruit disappeared. In other words Tantalus had water and fruit with him all the time, but they never quenched his thirsty or satisfy him. The consumer culture is similar to the story of Tantalus and consumers are tantalised by manufacturers. Every time new products are released brought in the market and producers assure consumers that those products are the best for satisfying their needs. However, whenever a consumer buys those products hoping to satisfy their needs they find that such products have capacity to satisfy those needs. It is deceptive culture always tantalising the consumers.

Consumers are compelled to believe mass culture is about luck and chances. For instance, with the emergence of reality television celebrity stars convince the viewers that they are extraordinary. They make viewers admire their lifestyle yet in reality they are similar (Geertz, 1993). The celebrities convince the viewers that those who are lucky can become a celebrity if they win a capitalism lottery. Adorno and Horkheimer criticises the illusion of celebrity because it limits individuals ability to make rational decisions. Individuals should use their knowledge and act rationally to achieve success in their own ways. Mass culture undermines the lives of the people by creating a false impression that some people are extraordinary and only by chance or luck can others succeeds in lives. It has turned people into passive consumers. It has swallowed everybody and turned them into mass people who just try to be like everyone else. On the contrary, people should work hard and manoeuvre their own ways to success instead of sitting passively and taking chances and expecting luck to win capitalism lottery (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1997). An ideal culture cannot be imitated by someone who is not living in that culture or part of that culture. Unlike in the ancient time where individuals were real in the consumer culture, there are no real individuals. Corporations have created false-individuals for the purpose of selling their products to them. These pseudo-individuals encourage others to buy this and that product every time. unfortunately, because consumers want to be like celebrities and aspire to become pseudo-individuals they buy those products suggested to them by other notwithstanding those products have no capacity to satisfy the needs of the consumers.

Mass culture has significant influence in the society culture because its message is ever present among the consumers. Therefore, consumers cannot resist consumer culture. The advertisement of the products through mass media ensures the image or brand stick on the consumers mind, and it appears real (Bennett, 2005). Consumers find these products irresistible because their images are engraved in their mind through mass advertisement. The mass culture was turning people into blind conformists forcing them to believe the fate of the world is in the hands of capitalists. However, this is dangerous because it disillusions the public and restricts them from thinking rationally.

Horkheimer and Adorno allege that mass culture is deceptive to the public because it produces and commercialises culture that conflicts the genuine culture. In their view, this is unacceptable because it deprives their imaginations and the ability to think rationally. The culture industry produces homogenised products with trivial differences, yet they make consumers believe these goods are different. The mass culture leaves the consumers with no option to decide on what can be produced and their role is only to consume what has been produced (Geertz, 1993, p.17). Mass culture is economic in nature thus it is goal oriented, unlike the authentic culture which is the end by itself and not goal oriented.

According to Turner and Rojeck (2001, 178), citizenship represents conferring members of the society power to enjoy certain rights and privileges in line with attaining particular goals. Citizenship keeps out outsiders or aliens and recognises members through a procedure of inclusion that standardises and normalise behaviour in the interest of consistency (Baert & Silva, 2010, p. 64). However, the marketers have developed a promotional culture which represents performances and output of advertising, marketing, and public relations industries. Those employed in this industry are the promotional mediators who have taken central positions within the vastly industrialised culture.

Horkheimer and Adorno argued that corporations profit maximisation behaviour facilitate the emergence of mass culture. They deny that such conducts are culture, but instead this a commerce that should be viewed through the economic lens. Furthermore, the culture industry does not imply a culture of masses they are not produced and conveyed in the representation of the masses. The involvement of the masses is a democratic participation (Kozlarek, 2014, p.90). However, considering there is no representation of the masses in the production decisions Horkheimer and Adorno intentionally call this culture industry as opposed to the mass culture of mass media. The use of this term is articulate because rather than involving the culture of the masses the producers or industries are cheating masses

Despite these arguments by the critics of the mass culture, there are some positive claims as well. For instance, critical theory has defended mass culture as a genuine culture (Kozlarek, 2014, p.92). Even those who view mass culture as negatively have been influenced by the experiences from Germany movie industry and have assumed the similar position in other countries. The democratisation of culture has been made possible through effective communication platform provided by the mass media. Cultural democratisation should be viewed as a spread of citizenship rights to the cultural context which could not have been possible without mass communication (Turner & Rojeck 2001, p.80). Also, the postmodernism has undermined the negative perception of mass culture because it is opposed to the separation of high and low culture.

In conclusion, culture industry does not represent the true interests and wishes of the people. The industry is dominated by a few powerful individuals who decide what the public should consume. Mass production has promoted standardisation and harmonisation of products and services thus enabling producers to succeed in deceiving the masses that the market is continuously offering a variety of products to meet their unique needs and interests. Advertisements have enabled consumers to continue using these homogenised products without utilising their power to question the producers about the quality or variety. The document has examined various negative arguments by Horkheimer and Adorno against mass culture, and they have denied the existence of mass culture claiming that what exists is culture industry because the wishes and interests of masses are not represented in the production system. To achieve mass culture consumers should stop being passive consumers and become active producers and consumers.