CULTURAL INDUSTRY: BACKGROUND, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Cultural industry is a term developed in the mid-twentieth century by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in Dialectic of the Enlightenment, a book published in 1947. It refers to any mass-produced cultural medium in a society, seen as an appeasement tool to calm economic difficulties and social of the people.

This concept encompasses television programs, radio and cultural entertainment products, which are seen by Germans as tools to manipulate people. In other words, "mass-produced" cultural products are nothing more than tools to appease a society.

Adorno and Horkheimer, creators of the concept of Cultural Industry

The principle of this theory is that consuming products created by the mass media makes people docile and conformist.

Background

Frankfurt school

The creation of the Frankfurt School is the basis of the theory of cultural industry, since both Adorno and Horkheimer belonged to this sociological school.

The thinking of those who belonged to this school was linked to Marxist thought and capitalist thought was often criticized, as well as that of Soviet socialism of the time.

Adorno and Horkheimer's beliefs

Both German philosophers had a specific way of approaching the ideas of modern culture.

These ideas were the ones that gave rise to the creation of his concept of cultural industry and, evidently, they were influenced by the ideas of the Frankfurt School. Some of these notions are the following:

-Capitalism hurts societies, and it is a system that must be destroyed to achieve maximum happiness.

-The human being is really not happy, even if he thinks he is. This must be the main focus of study of all philosophy.

-Human actions must go towards the creation of a communist system. Opposing communism was seen as an act of rebellion against the people, as Adorno and Horkheimer believed.

-The influence of art is fundamental in societies. In fact, the value of a work of art is not determined by its quality, but by the contribution it generates to society. According to both philosophers, art is not judged arbitrarily, but the quality of a work can be tested objectively.

-In addition, art and poetry should be used primarily in any plot. Both thinkers attached more importance to these cultural branches than to the use of logic in discussions.

-The philosophical disciplines must be unified and not treated as different sciences. All social disciplines were seen in the same way; they were to be treated as a single science.

characteristics

Left trend

The concept of culture industry is often widely associated with left-wing ideas that emerged in the middle of the last century.

This relationship is particularly true given the critique of capitalism that the idea of ​​a culture industry carries. According to Horkheimer and Adorno, capitalism is the main culprit for the culture industry.

Influence of the mass media

The products generated by the cultural industry are distributed mainly by the mass media.

These media -which most of the time are also responsible for producing such content- are seen as the main responsible for the industrialization of art.

Entertainment television shows are nothing more than media tools to distract people and create "false happiness." This helps them forget the economic and social problems that they have in their lives.

Horkheimer and Adorno's theory emphasizes the capitalist concept of these entertainment products.

They are seen as enemies of society, which must focus on the promulgation of communism to cause a revolution that leaves behind the ideas of cultural capitalism.

Authenticity of art

Another reason why the cultural industry is so criticized by both Germans is for the lack of authenticity of products created to be distributed in the mass media.

The use of these tools as means of cultural manipulation makes them lose their artistic purpose.

In other words, although magazines, television and radio programs are cultural products, they lose their artistic authenticity given their mass-produced character.

Instead, philosophical and artistic thoughts are seen as the counterpart of the culture industry and the fundamental principle of the communist ideas of Horkheimer and Adorno.

The paintings have a unique authenticity and have an irreplaceable value in cultural terms for the development of a society.

Criticism of capitalist idealism

The culture industry reflects in many cases the lifestyles of celebrities. In turn, people who consume all products of the culture industry are exposed to the capitalist ideals that are represented in these products.

That is, the same productions of the mass media are used to convey capitalist ideas to the masses according to these German thinkers, these ideas influence people's lives in a negative way.

Evolution of the concept and current use

While the term culture industry was developed for the purpose of defining the evil that mass entertainment productions do and supporting a left-wing ideal, the term is used much more widely today.

Today, many experts refer to entertainment productions as a culture industry, simply as a base concept.

Currently the term represents the production of cultural goods within a society of any political tendency, not just the right wing.

Examples

Television shows that follow the lives of one or more people often feature well-furnished home settings, no matter how much money the show's characters have.

This can be appreciated in most North American sitcoms, and reflects the capitalist critique of these cultural entertainment systems.

In the same way, magazine-style magazines that use the promotion of products difficult to acquire for an ordinary person as a form of entertainment, are also examples of the cultural industry.

People consume this content, and although they cannot purchase the products, they are appeased by the fact that they have indirect access to them through these means.

This mass-produced content generates a culture that is repeated in all countries, as everyone has easy access to it.

Being the most popular way of consuming culture, it overshadows other more traditional ones such as museums, art and poetry. The massification of culture is the clearest example of the cultural industry.

References

1. The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, T. Adorno and M. Horkheimer, 1944. Taken from Marxists.org
2. The Culture Industry by Adorno & Horkheimer: Left-wing elitist nonsense, B. Dainow, 2013. Taken from researchgate.net
3. The culture industry in the 21st century - Robert Kurz, (nd)., 2014. Taken from libcom.org
4. Culture Industry, Oxford Reference, (nd). Taken from oxfordreference.com
5. Culture Industry, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from Wikipedia.org