This week I will focus on the concept of mass production in the culture industry as presented in the readings. As far as I understand, for Adorno and Horkheimer this means that everything produced by the culture industry is the same, and it serves to lull society into a false mindset so we will not question or resist them. Personally I do not support their claim that we participate in our own oppression through accepting what the culture industry tells us, or that we are all effected by it in the same way. Adorno and Horkheimer do not present the possibility of uneven development affected by changes in social patterns over time as presented by White. They seem to give no credit to the consumer of pop culture, and how their mindset or ability to question the industry as a result of their own personal experience within society. Though I participate in pop culture all the time, I do not consider my experiences to be constant repetitions of themselves over which I have no control.
However, I would agree that pop culture, as it is presented in North America is often repetitious in what it presents, and similar themes, plot lines, and celebrity faces appear again and again. It can be frustrating that these themes (such as ridiculously good looking doctors that all work at a hospital but secretly spend their time finding various ways to "get" with each other) are frequently presented in various packaging. This does not mean that I do not partake in any of these things from time to time, and I'm certain that we all have our pop culture guilty pleasures. Some of mine I think, may be too guilty to share.
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This is from Kelly L. by the way...
I completely agree that pop culture, in terms of celebrities and the entertainment industry, is extremely repetitious. Each new superstar is a mutation of a former star, but the new person never seems to manage to add anything substantial to her/his field. I have a tendency to love one TV show, celebrity, or movie, but then hate all of its imitators for trying to be too much like the first one, even if the imitator is more entertaining. I know, I know, no one cares about who I think is "hot or not".
I think Adorno and Horkheimer don't give much credit to the consumer because a lot of consumers don't deserve credit much of the time. It is nice to say that I question what I see and hear, but how many people, (who are not taking a pop culture class), really do that on a regular basis? I would like to think a lot of people, but I'm not so sure.
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