Culture industry is how ‘culture’ is marketed to a specific audience to make it appear a certain way. This is in contrast to “authentic culture” which is more of an accurate representation of what the culture is really like in a certain environment. The main sociologists who push this idea are Horkenheimer and Adorno who argue that the culture business tries to impose compliance to a specific social hierarchy in addition to operating for profit, even if they think its true motivations are more sinister. Although the authors’ claim may sound extreme, they make a compelling case that the creation of mass cultural products robs both the customer and art itself of any real sense of unique identity. An example of this can be the notorious ‘Paris syndrome’, this is where a tourist from another country envisions the idea of Paris, France being this luxurious, beautiful city through the media they have consumed like Netflix’s ‘Emily in Paris’ and once they arrive and realise that it operates like any other city with societal problems they feel a sense of disappointment.
The idea of culture industry is that authentic culture has almost been near wiped out and replaced by a medium that encourages capitalistic gain, eradicating it’s origins has meant that culture is no longer cultivated by groups and communities of people and is now instead being controlled by corporations who are only able to show a niche side of what a culture really is.
An example of media that reflects the expansion of culture industry is superhero films. This kind of films often have the biggest movie budgets. Some media experts claim that in addition to being formulaic, they are also created with the intention of stifling revolutionary change. Even if they have the ability to do more, superheroes themselves simply serve to restore the status quo in the world they live in, unlike the antagonists in superhero movies who seek change. An example of a character that represents this narrative is Batman, as his alter ego Bruce Wayne is a wealthy millionaire and instead of giving back to his community he actively chooses to dress up as a Bat that beats on lowlife criminals when his riches could actively create change in his fictional Gotham community. You could argue that a more realistic approach to how superheroes would really act in today’s society would be Eric Kripke’s ‘The boys’ which tells the story of how if fictional superheroes were to exist they would essentially be the worst people imaginable due to their abuse of power. Therefore, ‘culture industry’ in superhero films makes the masses passive in the idea of a false sense of satisfaction.
This was a good read. I think you introduced Culture Industry clearly. Good use of examples of culture industry through film and characters that have relevancy today. I liked your analysis of ‘Paris Syndrome’ and how you explained how people come to have certain ideals and expectations of places and things created by the media. Batman was also a good example when explaining the idea of media creating compliancy and how villains are inherently bad for going against the status quo.
I like your interpretation of the culture industry into today’s superhero film industry, it shows how the industry has been used as a tool to perpetuate the ideology of capitalism, as well as turning modern day audiences into consumers. However, is there any way you can talk about how the idea of culture industry that Horkheimer and Adorno coined in the 1940s would’ve been seen in that era and how it has changed over the years?
I also really did like the example used of the “Paris Syndrome”, bringing real life ideas into media.
I really like the way you put it. The examples like the Paris effect is really helpful for understanding the concept of how films are playing their role in culture industry. Also including the the history and researchers helps to get a better grasp of the culture industery in films.