The Frankfurt School

relationship between communication and culture should be evident to you Studies on the impact of technology Studies on the effect of media images on behaviour Studies on the effect of advertising Studies on the character of modernity and post-modernity Studies about “mass culture”

The Frankfurt School is interested in questions about how popular culture is produced

Theodor Adorno Social systems are put in place to ensure that people will continue to manipulate and dupe people into buying the myth that society is moving forward, while domination continues without resistance. Coined the term “Cultural Industry”

“STANDARDIZATION” Art succumbs to formula, genre Plotlines follow predictable paths Time and “look” of artistic works must conform to various standards All driven by commercial imperatives to maximize profit

“PSEUDO-INDIVIDUALIZATION” Capitalism conveys “myth” of the individual and of the “rebel” People want to express themselves as being different from the “crowd” Need to “stick out” creates new market opportunities For Adorno, all culture is “pre-digested” with individuals in mind

“MANIPULATIVE” With “scientific” knowledge of the audience, cultural creators can manipulate storylines to produce certain effects Can create content that distracts people from more serious issues facing society at large NO WAY OUT OF CULTURAL INDUSTRY…VERY PESSIMISTIC

Walter Benjamin German-Marxist thinker The “aura” of art is lost in its reproduction. Mechanical reproduction brought the work of art into countless different situations but the quality of the artistic presence always depreciated.

Reproduction in music The Mash Up

This also applies to film… There is not truly an actor's “aura” but is merely replaced by the "artificial build-up of the personality” thus “the cult of the movie-star fostered by the money of the film industry” The aura in the original art work is lost…however, the original artwork is now accessible to the masses (as long as it is not merely a replacement for their own existence).

Key points in Benjamin’s work Art is designed for reproducibility Film is built on artificial “personality” “reality” is an artifice If an art piece is authentic it is valued and represents “true” art…remember, postmodernism does not believe in truth and Marxists don’t believe in private ownership…so this makes sense given Benjamin’s background.

Jurgen Habermas Possibly the most important living philosopher Key idea is “The Public Sphere” "a network for communicating information and points of view" which eventually transforms them into a public opinion.

In theory the public sphere should exist outside of church and state (therefore no subjective opinion) Communication plays key role in democracy Both sides must agree to “truth claims” Sees fellow Frankfurt scholars as pessimistic

Modern uses of Habermas The internet The Press