1. critical theory
on mass media

2. the Marxist influence
‘the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas; i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production’
(Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The German Ideology)

3. the model
the way a society organizes the means of its economic production will have a determining effect on the type of culture that society produces or makes possible
the cultural products are deemed ideological to the extent that they implicitly or explicitly support the interests of dominant groups, who socially, politically, economically and culturally, benefit from this particular economic organization of society

4. the context
Marx argues that each significant ‘stage’ in history is constructed around a particular ‘mode of production’
each mode of production brings into being different ways to produce the necessaries of life, but also produces different social relationships between the different classes, and different institutions (including cultural ones)

5. the terrain
fundamental to this analysis is the claim that the way in which a society produces its means of existence (mode of production) ultimately determines the political, social and cultural shape of the society and its possible future environment
this, however, does not mean that the ideas of the dominant class will simply be imposed to the subordinate classes; it is in the ‘ideological forms’ (legal, political, cultural, etc.) that men and women ‘become conscious of … conflict and fight it out’

6. Frankfurt School
mainly associated with the writings of Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Leo Lowenthal, Walter Benjamin and Herbert Marcuse
looked to the capacity of the ‘superstructure’ (ideas and ideology represented in the mass media) to subvert material and historical forces of economic change (Enlightenment project)

7. conceptual tools in their critique
from Marx: the early concept of alienated labour (it produces itself and other workers as commodities too) and from his later writings, the concept of commodity fetishism (the social relations of production transforming into relationships between things)
from Max Weber: the concept of instrumental reason (the relation of means to ends)
from Georg Lukacs: the concept of the reification of consciousness (fragmented labour-fragmented subjectivity- fragmented thought)

8. ‘false consciousness’
ideologies of the dominant class had come to condition the economic base, by promoting a false consciousness among the working masses and helping to assimilate them to capitalist society
commercialized mass culture was seen as one important means by which this success for monopoly capital had been achieved

9. ‘commodity’
… the main instrument of this process; both art and oppositional culture could be marketed for profit at the cost of losing critical power
Marcuse described the mass consumption society founded on commerce and advertising as one- dimensional

10. mass culture
cultural products (in the form of images, ideas and symbols) are commodified by acquiring an exchange value
… they can be exchanged by consumers for physic satisfactions and amusement
… intrinsic value distinctions are replaced by criteria of cost and demand

11. culture industries
Frankfurt School saw the importance of what they called the culture industries in the reproduction of contemporary societies
… in which mass culture and communications stand in the center of leisure activity, are important agents of socialization and mediators of political reality
… and should be seen as primary institutions of contemporary societies with a variety of economic, political, cultural, and social effects

12. ‘dialectic of Enlightenment’
Horkheimer and Adorno concerned with the penetration of art and culture by the methods, techniques and aims of industrial capitalism
it was in this transformation of art and culture, they argued, that ‘the masses’ were finally bought off by and ‘made safe’ for capitalism

13. …
mass culture provided false satisfactions and pleasures for the masses, euphoria in unhappiness
this worked to integrate them completely into an unjust and unfree society, from which there was no longer any possibility of escape because the possibility of resistance had been finally overcome

14. deception & manipulation
the deception that is perpetrated on the masses by the culture industry, is precisely the false promise of new kinds of mass entertainment which appear to offer freedom and enjoyment to the multitude of people
at the heart of this argument is the thesis that the mass of ordinary people can be, and are, cynically manipulated; their subordination can be bought by those who have economic and political power at the price of a bit of entertainment

15. - the case of music
Adorno, drawing on popular music, makes three specific claims:
first, that popular culture is standardized (pseudo- individualization is used by music industry to suggest otherwise)
second, that it promotes passive consumption
and third, that popular music operates as a ‘social cement’

16. …
in contrast, authentic culture is an utopian space keeping alive the desire for a better world beyond the confines of the present
… it embodies both a critique of today and the promise of tomorrow
but even authentic culture is threatened by the culture industry, as it draws it more and more into the realm of production for profit

17. the task
the task of critical theory was to be critical; it was a mix of philosophy, sociology and cultural criticism whose aim was to expose those social processes in an unjust world that worked against justice and freedom
intellectuals must contribute to the emancipation and liberation of the masses, by identifying those forces in society that worked against their true human interests

18. role of mass media in political life
Jürgen Habermas, German political theorist, member of the second generation of critical theorists
differs from the first generation in his desire to construct a systematic social theory and his willingness to use instrumental conceptual tools in his scheme
… developing normative accounts

19. ‘public sphere’
a ‘space’ where access to information affecting the public good is widely available
where discussion is free of domination
and where all those participating in public debate do so on an equal basis

20. the formation
represented mainly by the 18th century coffee house or debating society
the formation of public sphere owed much to the conditions of capitalism and economic freedom and individualism
the first form of public space was described as bourgeois public sphere

21. characteristics
within this public sphere, people collectively determine through rational argument the way in which they wish to see society develop, and this shapes in turn governmental policy
the media facilitate this process by providing an arena of public debate, and by reconstituting private citizens as a public body in the form of public opinion

22. however Habermas was generally somewhat pessimistic
… about the consequences of the rise of new corporate interests and powers for democracy in modern times
the public was more likely to be manipulated by the media than helped to form opinions in a rational way

23. limitations
historically; idealizing an elitist form of political life and neglecting the intervention of non bourgeois social actors in it
normatively; failing to recognize people are represented primarily through political parties, interest groups and the structures of civil society

24. reconstituting ‘public sphere’
one of the strengths of public sphere, universalism, at it is reflected in the principle of the general accessibility of information, has been illustrated by public service broadcasting
still a single overarching public sphere fails to accommodate the plurality of competing publics within the society; which respond to their marginalization by setting up alternative public spheres

25. and media pluralism
media pluralism cannot be equated just with competition
it should be conceived as a contest that is open to different social groups to enter
conflict and difference need to be embraced as integral elements of pluralist democracy sa

26. … implications for media
media are not a single institution with a common democratic purpose
rather, different media should be viewed as having different functions within the democratic system
… calling for different kinds of structures and styles of journalism sa

27. *
notes from the books:
Calhoun, C. (ed.) (1996) Habermas and the Public Sphere. MIT Press
Curran, J. (2002) Media and Power. London: Routledge
Habermas, J. (1962/1989) Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Cambridge: Polity Press
Keane J. (1991) The Media and Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press
McQuail, D. (1994) McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory, 4th edition. London: Sage

28. coming next week … Political Economy of Mass Media key text:
Garnham, N. (1990) Capitalism and Communication. London: Sage (chapter 1)

29. thank you for your attention

30. issues for discussion:
what do you think about the critique of mass culture by the Frankfurt School?
let’s draw on examples of public sphere …

31. a pluralistic model of public sphere by James Curran (2000)
workshop
a pluralistic model of public sphere by James Curran (2000) sa

32. the model
a core sector, constituted by general interest TV channels which reach a mass audience
- this is where different individuals and groups come together to engage in a reciprocal debate about the management of society

33. …
the core sector is fed by peripheral media sectors, three of which are intended to facilitate the expression of dissenting and minority views
2. civic media sector: consists of channels of communication linked to organized groups and social networks
3. professional media sector: professional communicators relate to the public on their own terms
4. social media sector: subsidizes minority as a way of promoting market diversity and consumer choice
and,
5. private sector: which relates to the public as consumers

34. - general sector
above this specialist sector should be a general media sector, which enables different groups in society to come together in a common debate
this should be staged in a form that promotes mutual understanding, and furthers a shared search for solutions
the general media sector should facilitate democratic procedures for defining agreed aims and regulating conflict sa

35. - specialist sector
one part of the media system should assist social groups to constitute themselves and clarify their objectives
a well-developed, specialist sector, enabling different social groups to debate within their terms of reference issues of social identity, group interest, political strategy and social- moral values sa

36. the perspective
such a media system is organized in different ways and connects to different segments of society, in order to enhance its diversity
publicly accountable in multiple ways, it is intended to enhance its diversity
its architecture is designed to create spaces for the incubation and communication of opposed viewpoints, and a common space for their mediation sa