Culture industry was a term coined by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer and refers to the mass producing of products. Culture industry refers to different businesses that produce, distribute, market and sell their products such as music, books, clothing, shoes, movies, etc. Culture industry can be seen with a Marxist philosophy in which the popular culture poses a structure of a factory where these “creative” mass productions are created. However these mass produced products end up being similar. This creates a false culture because rather than other businesses or artists trying to stand out, by all trying to stand out they are all being similar in the same sense and reproducing the same culture to society.
In our society everything around is mass produced as mentioned earlier clothes, shoes, music, movies, etc. Though these items are different they are all very similar. For example every season there are new trends however though you may shop at different stores each store is essentially going to have the same styles. Instead of businesses trying to stand out and create different “styles” they are in reality the same. Products that are common to us in society such as music and fashion are things we see on a daily basis and use. One more thing others probably overlook that also relates to culture industry is art. Andy Warhol was a key figure in pop art a movement that started in the 1950s. One of the pictures that can be analyzed is his pop art of Marilyn Monroe who was also a pop culture artist. In his art are “different” photos of Marilyn Monroe yet in reality the same picture just used with different colors. It is also in a sense “mass-produced” because his piece is composed of multiple prints of the same image. Warhol’s prints were a critique on modern culture in which the subjects he used were popular. Marilyn Monroe was not the only popular artists Andy Warhol used in his art work he also used Elvis Presley as well as Jackie Onassis. Another one of Andy’s mass produced art works is his Campbell’s soup can in which was displayed in an exhibit. His exhibition featured thirty two different soup cans all identical with only the flavor to differentiate the pieces of art.
These examples of Andy’s mass produced pieces of art demonstrate the idea of culture theory. This idea of culture industry makes consumers or members of society to believe they are different and have many choices to choose from yet in reality they are all the same. An outfit I may have on for the season of spring I may think maybe different from my friend because we are wearing different material or styles of shirts, yet in reality if we were to examine ourselves all that would really be different would probably be the color and material of the clothing. Culture industry has a lot of control over all members of society especially through the media, with a growing field in technology. Mass produced items not only occur in the everyday things we wear, hear, or use but as said earlier can also be pieces of art we may see in the hallways of buildings.
In our society everything around is mass produced as mentioned earlier clothes, shoes, music, movies, etc. Though these items are different they are all very similar. For example every season there are new trends however though you may shop at different stores each store is essentially going to have the same styles. Instead of businesses trying to stand out and create different “styles” they are in reality the same. Products that are common to us in society such as music and fashion are things we see on a daily basis and use. One more thing others probably overlook that also relates to culture industry is art. Andy Warhol was a key figure in pop art a movement that started in the 1950s. One of the pictures that can be analyzed is his pop art of Marilyn Monroe who was also a pop culture artist. In his art are “different” photos of Marilyn Monroe yet in reality the same picture just used with different colors. It is also in a sense “mass-produced” because his piece is composed of multiple prints of the same image. Warhol’s prints were a critique on modern culture in which the subjects he used were popular. Marilyn Monroe was not the only popular artists Andy Warhol used in his art work he also used Elvis Presley as well as Jackie Onassis. Another one of Andy’s mass produced art works is his Campbell’s soup can in which was displayed in an exhibit. His exhibition featured thirty two different soup cans all identical with only the flavor to differentiate the pieces of art.
These examples of Andy’s mass produced pieces of art demonstrate the idea of culture theory. This idea of culture industry makes consumers or members of society to believe they are different and have many choices to choose from yet in reality they are all the same. An outfit I may have on for the season of spring I may think maybe different from my friend because we are wearing different material or styles of shirts, yet in reality if we were to examine ourselves all that would really be different would probably be the color and material of the clothing. Culture industry has a lot of control over all members of society especially through the media, with a growing field in technology. Mass produced items not only occur in the everyday things we wear, hear, or use but as said earlier can also be pieces of art we may see in the hallways of buildings.