Context on the Critical Theory and the Parallelisms of Culture Industry from Then and Now.
The Enlightenment period of the 18th century left a legacy of great minds and trends of thought that emphasized reason, and rationality and questioned traditional authority. These were the foundations that led to critical thinking and the examination of social structures. Later on, came the Marxist theory, which was influential in the development of critical theory. Marx criticized capitalism and its impacts on social relations, power dynamics, and class struggle. Critical theorists recognized this new framework for understanding and critiquing society.
The Frankfurt School played a crucial role in developing this theory in the 20th century. key scholars from this movement such as Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse, combined Marx’s analysis with their insights on sociology, psychology, and philosophy. they critiqued capitalist societies and explored the roles of culture, media, and mass communication in maintaining social inequalities.
Going deeper into the context that led to this, we can observe the influences of the rise of fascism in Europe as well as the experiences of world war II, which made the Frankfurt School scholars exile Nazi Germany and gave them the desire to understand and critique the social conditions that led to such extreme forms of oppression.
In post-world War II, societies had the desire to establish democratic institutions, a process in which the critical theory was a response to the need of reconciling the horrors of the war with the desire for social progress. It was in this context that critical theorists turned their attention to analyzing the role of culture in society. The rise of fascism during the war demonstrated the dangers of the manipulation of mass sentiments.
They continued studying the underlying factors that shaped capitalist societies. scholars examined the role of culture in shaping individuals’ beliefs, values, and desires. They observed that cultural products and media were becoming increasingly commodified and mass-produced, serving not only as forms of entertainment but also as tools for social control and manipulation. This observation gave rise to the concept of the culture industry as the mass production of cultural products that shape popular tastes and preferences while generating profit. It strategically influences and guides the masses through the dissemination of these products. Three main concepts play key roles in the concept of the culture industry, they are conformity, alienation, and commodification.
Conformity is the tendency to adhere to social norms and expectations. A key concept in the critical theory that was observed During the 20th century through Hollywood films that exemplified and promoted the prevailing social norms. there was a production code that suppressed alternative perspectives and imposed strict moral guidelines. The way this norm is translated in contemporary times can be exemplified through the conformity that reality television constructs by promoting narratives that emphasize and cater to specific gender, social, and cultural norms. People are subconsciously but actively encouraged to conform to these predetermined roles and behaviors, reinforcing stereotypes and limiting the representation of diverse identities, and taking us further away from our unique and individual true essence.
Alienation also plays a key role today, and it was also present back then. this sense of disconnection and estrangement from oneself and others resulted in the dehumanizing effects of production and consumption in the capitalist regime. It was present in the industrialization and rationalization of labor processes seen as repetitive and monotonous tasks. this severed the connection between workers and their labor, their creative potential, and their sense of self-worth.
Today, Alienation can be observed in the digital aspects of societies. Social Media platforms contribute to feelings of alienation through the constant pressure to curate and present false idealized versions of ourselves developing a quick addiction to seeking validation through likes and followers that lead to the disconnection from our authentic selves.
Lastly, I can mention commodification which refers to the process of turning goods, services, and experiences into commodities that can be bought and sold in the marketplace. through the perspective of the culture industry, we can observe commodification in the way cultural products are reduced to objects of consumption, detached from their social and cultural contexts.
In the 20th century, the emergence of the recording industry commodified music. The length of songs was standardized due to production capacity from that time, as musicians were instructed more and more to produce popular, commercially viable songs, leading to the standardization of music styles and lyrics displacing artistic expression to the background of a greater picture of society.
in contemporary days, streaming platforms such as Spotify and Netflix exemplify the commodification of cultural products through algorithms that cater to standardized downgraded preferences. this limits our exposure to diverse and challenging content.
