Philosophy of Art and Culture 2024-2025: Week 2

On the Culture Industry and the Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School

Neomarxist group that questioned how and why authoritarianism and capitalism implants itself in modern culture; strongly influenced by Marx’s theory that history runs through a cycle of stages. Focuses on superstructure.

Critical Theory

“Critical theory” refers to a family of theories that aim at a critique and transformation of society by integrating normative perspectives with empirically informed analysis of society’s conflicts, contradictions, and tendencies.

Immanent Critique

Immanent critique is a method of analyzing culture that identifies contradictions in society's rules and systems. What something stands for versus what it actually does. Reality vs Possibility.

Dialectics

Method of seeking out and confronting such contradictions.

Adorno and the Good Life

“There is no good life in the bad life.”

Culture Industry

A means of oppression which does not feel like oppression, manufactured by an “industry” that is dominated by production companies. Bread and circuses to the tired masses.

Industrialization

• Pervasive standardization and uniformity.

• Cycling and regurgitation of certain themes, archetypes, and narratives. Mimesis.

• Commodification of cultural artifacts.

Pseudo-Individuality

Identification with products; a shortcut to individuality.

Criticism of Adorno

• Society is not a monolith.

• Contradictions persist even in manufactured artifacts.

• Even manufactured artifacts can be artistic.

Hall’s Criticism

• Encoding/Decoding

• Audiences will intake messages differently.

Davis’ Criticism

• Appropriation and abrogation

• Performance of the works count. The context of performance matters.

The Cultural Industries

Violates convention but enables valuable activities of engagement.