The Culture Industry - YinYin, Sam , Manuela, John

It is obvious from the tone of the writing in the text, that Horkheimer and Adorno have a very pessimistic view of the technological world and what they call the "culture industry". Not only do they present it as a means to control the masses, they also explain how the masses are slowly led into servitude. This act is done through subconscious consent when those whom mass culture is directed at accept and welcome their new way of life with open arms: in other words, conform to the system or be excluded. We are perpetually promised things and yet we do not receive them and linger on waiting. Everything is downgraded to less elegant state. Beauty and even talent can be manufactured: for example, when those in power decide that some actress will become the next hit. Movie plots are generalized to feed the consumers needs, Horkheimer and Adorno state that one can see the beginning of a movie and predict it's ending because everything is the same. The masses are fooled into believing that it is in control, yet that is not the case. In the culture industry, the masses merely become its object. By pretending to have concerns for the masses, culture industry strengthens its grip on the mentality of the flock.

It seems to be rather alarming that we do not have any say in how the world flows. We learn what we are told, we see what we are shown, we buy what is given to us. It is because of this that we trust so much in our current system. It is the system we grew up in, we are defenseless against it, and everyday that we continue to live in it, we are hammered deeper and deeper into the culture industry. A good example of how this system strikes us is propaganda. Take for instance the United States in the past few years. Everyone is grinded into patriotism purely because of how the media showcases certain events (namely 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Irak, terrorism against the US, security alerts, etc.). There is no longer a personal thought, it is the thought of the masses. Citizens are taught what opinions to voice through fear and terror, yet they feed on that kind of stimulation as an ever consuming group. Those who do not follow the rest are branded as "traitors" to their country or lacking in sympathy towards their own kind. Those who are weak of mind then silence their own views on the issue and join the cause because they do not wish to be exiled. In the same line of things, the creature of brand names also have created a sense of belonging. It is the illusion of fitting into a clique, being in style or out of season, having the best garments or simply not in the cool scene. Entertainment and politics both charm us into some mental state that we do not necessary need to abide by, but cannot resist. It is not in all cases that we fall into the trap, but at times we only realize much later that we are stuck in the spider's web.

Although Horkheimer and Adorno warn us about the dangers of this system, now that we are so deeply rooted into it, if eventually it is removed, would we not be lost or confused by its downfall? Or rather, would we not simply run back to it because it is the only truth that we know?