Apple’s Grip on Mankind
Apple owns people. Not the delicious fruit, but the industry leading electronics corporation. It has such a fan base, and loyal customers that no matter what they do, they can win out the competition. They have such a select few devices that only work with the other devices they make, that it has created a false need in people to get these things. They claim that when they come out with a new product that it is just “the best available”, or so much better than the one before. People believe this and wait in lines for the new products. Every time Apple releases something new, there will be a line. It is seen almost as a status system to be in possession of these amazing products.
Apple products are seen almost as a status symbol. If you have a mac, iPod, iPhone, or any of their numerous iProducts you are seen as cool. They are also a symbol for having money, as they are so pricey you should be in a higher class. Even when people believe that Apple products aren’t the best, some still buy them just to stay “cool” or just to be brand specific. Apple doesn’t make it easy to transfer your old data over from mac products to keep you drawn in. Even when there are other products that do the same exact things, people still continue to buy into the fact that Apple is better than others. This is what Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were saying in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. People are obedient in what the mass media sells them. When things like new macbooks come out, they buy it, even if it’s just about the same as the last.
Apple offers such similar products, it makes the market for what their consumers can buy very slim. This isn’t just in their products, but their software as well. When first starting off with their iPod line, Apple’s iPod could only work with the mas operating system. So either you owned a mac when buying an iPod, or you bought a mac along with it. Since then they’ve switched their ideas to somewhat more mainstream, but still monopolize some parts of the industry, by keeping things apple specific. All of the charging cords for their products are specific to the Apple brand, and only work with apple products, no other computer can use a macbook charging cord. Also, the docking cable for the iPod and iPhone have been introduced into society as one of the most universally used cables in society. When buying speakers or mostly any other type of device, from remote helicopters to cameras, it will always be compatible with Apple’s iPod and iPhone. They dominate that field, by mostly not letting any other smartphone get in the way of their brand.
Apple is a perfect industry mogul to show what was meant in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. As Adorno and Horkheimer said, they have some of today’s most standardized products. Such a restricted variety of things to choose from that when a new one comes out, people are forced to upgrade through the small path. As suggested in the reading, it creates false needs for people, as there is other technology out there that does the same thing, but Apple still has people that have to have their technology and wait in long lines to have their products. All they care about is moving their product, not about the people that buy it. "Consumers appear as statistics on research organization charts, and are divided by income groups into red, green, and blue areas; the technique is that used for any type of propaganda." (p.2) They have such a backing that when they put out new products that people almost robotically buy the new ones off the shelves, without even thinking. The reading suggested that companies like Apple create obedience in their followers, which tends to be the trend nowadays. This is just one of the many places that do this in society today. With today’s culture, big companies are seen as the driving force behind society, and can form it to what they want. People will comply with the things that are being spit out, even if they don’t believe in it themselves.
Jimmy Kimmel believes in this as well. Everything that apple produces is pretty much the same, just labeled and packaged differently. It's just the
Apple owns people. Not the delicious fruit, but the industry leading electronics corporation. It has such a fan base, and loyal customers that no matter what they do, they can win out the competition. They have such a select few devices that only work with the other devices they make, that it has created a false need in people to get these things. They claim that when they come out with a new product that it is just “the best available”, or so much better than the one before. People believe this and wait in lines for the new products. Every time Apple releases something new, there will be a line. It is seen almost as a status system to be in possession of these amazing products.
Apple products are seen almost as a status symbol. If you have a mac, iPod, iPhone, or any of their numerous iProducts you are seen as cool. They are also a symbol for having money, as they are so pricey you should be in a higher class. Even when people believe that Apple products aren’t the best, some still buy them just to stay “cool” or just to be brand specific. Apple doesn’t make it easy to transfer your old data over from mac products to keep you drawn in. Even when there are other products that do the same exact things, people still continue to buy into the fact that Apple is better than others. This is what Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were saying in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. People are obedient in what the mass media sells them. When things like new macbooks come out, they buy it, even if it’s just about the same as the last.
Apple offers such similar products, it makes the market for what their consumers can buy very slim. This isn’t just in their products, but their software as well. When first starting off with their iPod line, Apple’s iPod could only work with the mas operating system. So either you owned a mac when buying an iPod, or you bought a mac along with it. Since then they’ve switched their ideas to somewhat more mainstream, but still monopolize some parts of the industry, by keeping things apple specific. All of the charging cords for their products are specific to the Apple brand, and only work with apple products, no other computer can use a macbook charging cord. Also, the docking cable for the iPod and iPhone have been introduced into society as one of the most universally used cables in society. When buying speakers or mostly any other type of device, from remote helicopters to cameras, it will always be compatible with Apple’s iPod and iPhone. They dominate that field, by mostly not letting any other smartphone get in the way of their brand.
Apple is a perfect industry mogul to show what was meant in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. As Adorno and Horkheimer said, they have some of today’s most standardized products. Such a restricted variety of things to choose from that when a new one comes out, people are forced to upgrade through the small path. As suggested in the reading, it creates false needs for people, as there is other technology out there that does the same thing, but Apple still has people that have to have their technology and wait in long lines to have their products. All they care about is moving their product, not about the people that buy it. "Consumers appear as statistics on research organization charts, and are divided by income groups into red, green, and blue areas; the technique is that used for any type of propaganda." (p.2) They have such a backing that when they put out new products that people almost robotically buy the new ones off the shelves, without even thinking. The reading suggested that companies like Apple create obedience in their followers, which tends to be the trend nowadays. This is just one of the many places that do this in society today. With today’s culture, big companies are seen as the driving force behind society, and can form it to what they want. People will comply with the things that are being spit out, even if they don’t believe in it themselves.
Jimmy Kimmel believes in this as well. Everything that apple produces is pretty much the same, just labeled and packaged differently. It's just the