The Rings Of Saturn By W.G. Sebald

The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
W.G. Sebald's novel The Rings of Saturn explores the relationship between toleration and
persecution through a first person narrative. The novel is preoccupied with loss and the ways we
have tried to come to terms with mortality. It is a meditation on the destructive nature of history, the
human lives affected, and the restorative power of art. However, his work is not simply a record of
these human–induced catastrophes, but also attempts to fashion new representational tools for the
purpose of acknowledging and coming to terms with the realities of modern human history. Sebald's
critcism tends to focus on the biographical and psychological backgrounds of the writers he
mentions. He draws heavily on the canon of twentieth–century Marxist thought, including works
from Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. His complex thesis draws specifically on their work
The Dialectic of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that spread
through Europe during the eighteenth century, which involved a radical change in the way that
philosophers and others understood the role of reason. It valued independent thought and promoted
reason to a higher status and for some came to replace faith. Intrinsic in Sebald's work is the idea
that the Enlightenment project was programmed by violent distrusts of the non–identical and a
coercive desire to eliminate otherness. Specifically, Sebald draws on Horkheimer and Adorno's
critique of civilization articulated in The Dialectic of the
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The Cultural Industry : Enlightenment As Mass Deception
In The cultural industry: enlightenment as mass deception, Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer
are examining how we are presented movies and different mass media outlets. Also discussed is how
life is now indistinguishable from movies; the same can also be said with reality TV and how
audiences are fed the simple idea of "reality." (3) Reality TV has become one of the top ways
audiences consume information that is not necessarily true, but instead produced for views. A large
part of the study is Adorno and Horkheimer compare this to a false personal identity created by the
cultural industry to produce identical mass culture. (1) This means that entertainment is produced
not for art's sake, but for consumption of media, they even go on to say the following: "movies and
radio need no longer pretend to be art. Instead the truth is they are just businesses that create an
ideology to justify the rubbish being produced."(1) The real question now is why? Why do people
watch this form of television? Is it because the documentary production puts the audiences trusts in
the creator of the show? A large part of the documentary production style relies on interviews, which
underscores the authority on the subject. That idea gives the audience a picture of what is and what
isn't true, however, that is a problem because even though documentaries spend more time
researching the topic of the narrative they are "edited," which makes it impossible to know the
legitimacy of its narrative.

Dialectic Of Enlightenment By Max Horkheimer And Theodor...
Often considered to be, perhaps the foundational text of the Frankfurt school, Dialectic of
Enlightenment co–authored by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno is certainly a strange book.
First published in 1947, it is largely made up from the notes taken by Adorno's wife during
discussions between Horkheimer and him. Attempting to conceptualize the self–destructing process
of Enlightenment, the transcendent theme brought forth by the authors related to the disintegration
of reason. More specifically, they expressed that the dissolution of enlightenment thought, and the
manifestation of complete domination in cultural production, are both symptoms of the current
prevailing mode of rationality. Glancing over this 70 year old theoretical book, one may interpret the
pessimistic world views held in Dialectic of Enlightenment as outdated. However, this paper will
argue the opposite. Granted, our world has gone through unbelievable change since Horkheimer and
Adorno's time. Nevertheless, their work undoubtedly remains relevant. Enlightenment thinking,
Horkheimer and Adorno argue, has led contemporary society and its citizenry to their present state
of subjugation. That being said, oftentimes when one speaks in regards to the term 'enlightened', it is
usually upheld with a positive connotation. However, it becomes clear through the reading of
Dialectic of Enlightenment, that Horkheimer and Adorno certainly do not necessarily see
enlightenment in such a positive light. They assert

Difference Between Adorno And Max Horkheimer
The Culture Industry – Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer Theodor Adorno and Max
Horkheimer are known as two great critical theorists who are primarily known for their work The
Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. Adorno and Horkheimer originally were
members of the Frankfurt School, which was a group of scholars that were a part of the revival of
Marxist thought. Adorno and Horkheimer were third wave scholars of Marxist thought which meant
that they were concerned about the occurrence of the communist revolution. However, the
revolution never took off instead the spread of fascism and Hitler's regime occurred. Adorno and
Horkheimer, both of Jewish descent, were forced to flee to New York. The Culture Industry:
Enlightenment as ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
A criticism made by Adorno and Horkheimer that is still relevant to the modern movie industry is
the criticism that "the people at the top are no longer so interested in concealing monopoly...Movies
and radio need no longer pretend to be art" (Adorno and Horkheimer). The modern movie industry
is an industry of commodities in sense, what this means is that the movies produced today are
produced simply as means for profit and not as form of art. As Adorno and Horkheimer stated "the
movie–makers distrust any manuscript which is not reassuringly backed by a bestseller" (Adorno
and Horkheimer) this attitude can be seen by simply observing the Avengers, Spider–man and
Transformers franchises. These types of movies are given top priority at movie studios simply
because they are movies with large target audiences and the movie studios know that they will bring
in mass amounts of profits. These types of movies often lack substance of any kind for example take
the Avengers franchise, the movie itself has very little plot or characterization but it is still produced
over and over again because it is a source of revenue. This is an example of how new media
technologies how what Adorno and Horkheimer mean by when they say art is becoming a
commodity (Adorno and Horkheimer). Another criticism found within

Theodor Herzls: The Jewish Activist Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl was a Jewish activist that was born May 2nd, 1860 IN Budapest. He was a creator
behind the modern view of Zionism and the idea of the reformation of the Jewish homeland of
Israel. Prior to becoming an activist for the Jewish homeland, he was a writer, playwright and
journalist for the Neue Freie Presses in Paris (Green, 2015). During Herzl's time as a journalist in
Paris, he was able to view the anti–Semitism as a larger problem when he saw the persecution of
Captain Alfred Dreyfus in 1894. Captain Dreyfus, was a French army officer that happened to be
Jewish. The Dreyfus affair was the catalyst for Herzl. Alfred Dreyfus was falsely convicted for
treason and passing artillery parts to the Germans during World War I. After

Adorno And The Music Industry : Kant And Marx
Adorno was a German philosopher, infused with the language of Kant and Marx – although they are
professional philosophers they disliked the way that Adorno wrote so much about music and society.
Kant and Marx also disliked his highly metaphorical and at times poetic style. However, Adornos
images were not poetic in a traditional sense they were frequently modernist. The two philosophers
Adorno and Max developed in the 1940s a thorough critique of mass society. Both Adorno and
Horkheimer use the term "culture industry" which refers to the production of cultural goods, which
signaled the essentially bad meeting of two incompatible worlds: that of culture, of high art, of the
ideal impulse, and that of industry, described by the production of ... Show more content on
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Adorno's words function like poetry because they needle thoughts on the part of individuals who
seek to understand them. They do this by duplicating the contradictions present in society in the
sentences themselves. In the introduction to Dialectic of Enlightenment he writes:
Even the best–intentioned reformers who use an impoverished and debased language to recommend
renewal, strengthen the very power of the established order they are trying to break. (Max
Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno Dialectic of Enlightenment, 1944; translated John Cumming,
1972; London: Verso, 1979, p. xiv)
Adorno always pays attention to conciliation; the way ideas are put across. His words might be used
to critique Tony Blair's attempt to use British patriotism for social ends, or artists who think that
manufacturing 'scandalous' works of anti–art will do anything but liven up the art market. Adorno
also attacks consumer society for its translation of every quality into mere quantity. If everything is
redeemable, nothing has any value anymore. The Dialectic of Enlightenment suggests a radical
sexual politics that reports issues of domination and race with none of the concepts of the
intellectual citizen that make people so impatient with 'political correctness'. Furthermore, Adorno
sees sexism and racism as stemming from a messed–up morality that seeks to deny natural biology.
The sex object is hated because she is a reminder that we inhabit bodies. Adorno

The Effects Of Modern Film On Our Rational And Critical...
In twentieth century Germany, Frankfurt School philosophers fiercely debated the effects of modern
film on our rational and critical thought processes. Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno assert film
is an oppressive technology that makes us intellectually docile, while Walter Benjamin contests their
assertion by recognizing film 's liberatory potential. Although Horkheimer and Adorno make
important points about the current relationship between film and the masses, they fail to
acknowledge any possible changes to it. In the context of futurity, Benjamin presents a convincing
argument–the technology of film can create subjectivities that will help the masses assimilate into
modernity. Horkheimer and Adorno 's understanding of film reflects ... Show more content on
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Kantian schematism expects us to, "from the first, relate sensuous multiplicity to fundamental
concepts" (Horkheimer 98). Film, however, leaves the consumer "nothing... to classify, since the
classification has already been preempted by the schematism of production" (98). Because modern
film only presents classified information (pre–cut, pre–chewed, and pre–swallowed bits of
information), there is no room for individual interpretation and critique. Horkheimer and Adorno
note how "the spectator must need no thoughts of his own: the product prescribes each reaction, not
through actual coherence... any logical connection presupposing mental capacity is scrupulously
avoided" (109). In prescribing the narratives of each action and reaction, Horkheimer and Adorno
argue film attempts to prevent individuals from utilizing their mental faculties (rational and critical
thought). That is, film forces the masses into a state of mental lethargy solely for commercial pursuit
of capital. Such is achieved by overstimulation; film is a "stimulant concocted by the experts" which
cannot "escape the weary eye" of the viewer (110). Succinctly put, Horkheimer and Adorno detest
modern film because it oppresses human thought by means of sensorial overstimulation. In "The
Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility," Benjamin recognizes the liberatory
function film may have in

Theodor Herzl Research Paper
Theodor Herzl: Father of Zionism?
Theodor Herzl is often referred to today as the Father of Zionism, a man known for his role in the
establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people. His most famous pamphlet, The Jewish State,
inspired thousands of Jewish men and women from across the world, although particularly in
Europe, to leave their homes to realize the glory of creating their own homeland in Palestine. While
Herzl was originally a believer in the gradual assimilation of German and Austrian Jews into the
European cultural world, the growing anti–Semitism within Europe led him to believe that the only
solution to Jewish ostracism was the creation of a separate state for Jews in Palestine. Although
Theodor Herzl became, over the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He also believed that the Jewish religion was one in a state of moral decay and rot. "Herzl believed
that centuries–long imprisonment in the ghetto had isolated Jews from the mainstream of history,
rendering them superstitious and fanatic and made them physically weak, cowardly, and incapable
of 'honest, manual labor'" (Kornberg 21–2). Herzl was disgusted by what he viewed as the
deterioration and filth of the Jewish religion, but at the same time his view that it centuries of
domination held the Jew in such a state gave him hope for the future of Judaism after its people
were released from the yoke of oppression.
It was during Theodor Herzl's youth and early adolescence that a period of anti–clericalism arose in
the Germanic world, due mainly to Pope Pius IX and his ringing declaration that all religions were
not equal and toleration of any religion other than Catholicism was condemned. This sparked a
period of great animosity towards the Church, primarily among writers and the artistic community
(Kornberg 14).
The struggle against the Catholic church in Germany during the 1870s marked a high point of liberal
influence and came to be called, in a term coined by a prominent liberal, the Kulturkampf, or 'the
great struggle for civilization in the interests of humanity. In the course of the 1870s, civil marriage
was legalized in Germany, church supervision of public education was eliminated, and the state took

Adrienne C. Rich : A Cultural Poet
Adrienne C. Rich: A Cultural Poet
Abstract: Adrienne Rich (1929–2012) seems to stand in consonance with thinkers of Cultural
Studies like Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Dick Hebdige and many others who realized the power
of the working class, as an agency of resistance to the prevalent ideology. She like them sees culture
as venue to spread ideology and to resist it. Thus, deep understanding of Rich's works reveals them
to be an ideological struggle with a aim to empower the powerless. In her poetry of 90's Rich was at
the zenith of her creative powers and her work was diverse and variegated, encompassing a host of
themes. She keenly strove to fulfill her aim of the enfranchisement of the deprived, employing
sundry poetic skills and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thus, she is read deeply and missed widely. Rich's inaugural volume came out in the early fifties.
These were poems embellished with formal skill. Her debut publication A Change of World was
selected by W.H. Auden for the Yale Younger Poets prize. She was then only an undergraduate.
Some of the poems were carefully wrought works and remain prescribed for graduate study even
today. Rich gathered acclaim from the time her Snapshots of a Daughter–in–Law (1963) was
published. This was her earliest collection where she strove to highlight the contradictions of
American life, the problems in her own life who was multitasking as an American poet, an
intellectual, a married woman, and above all a mother. In the eponymous poem of the volume she
remembers women writers of the earlier times who were similarly preoccupied, and among them she
thinks of the poet Emily Dickinson. The poem tellingly enumerates the chores and the daily grind:
Knowing themselves too well in one another: their gifts no pure fruition, but a thorn, the prick filed
sharp against a hint of scorn . . . Reading while waiting for the iron to heat, writing, My Life had
stood–a Loaded Gun– in that Amherst pantry while the jellies boil and scum,

Culture in Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s Book...
"Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" is a chapter in Theodor Adorno and Max
Horkheimer's book "Dialectic of Enlightenment" it goes onto discus the conflicts presented by the
"culture industry." Adorno states that the culture industry is a main phenomenon of late capitalism,
encompassing all products from Hollywood films, to advertisements, and even extending to musical
compositions. Adorno is very deliberate in noting the term "culture industry" over "mass culture"
this was done to specifically distinguish, that it is not to be understood as something which
spontaneously stems from the masses themselves. Products of the culture economy take on the
appearance of artwork but are in fact dependant on industry and economy, ... Show more content on
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The author goes on to explain that the public refrains from criticizing the media because they are
dependent upon it. They need the culture industry in order to achieve pleasure and satisfaction and
cannot imaging their lives without it. The industry preserves its power by presenting an ideal of "the
good life" as reality and through false conflicts that trade him for his real ones. The industry spreads
false values and establishes the individual's willingness to be a part of society and to coordinate his
interests with it. Adorno also states that the culture industry takes advantage of the weaker classes
by making its content shallow and widely appealing and thus demoting the value of culture
"Everyone knows that they are helpless within the system, and ideology must take account for this"
The main argument behind the article is that the commodification of culture is the commodification
of human awareness. The culture industry provides easy entertainment which is able to distract the
masses from the wrongs of a capitalist ruling order. It goes onto argue that the culture industry has
over taken reality and the way that it is experienced, where it completely shapes and conditions the
experiences we have creating an alternate reality of consumerism. Popular culture gives the allusion
of a distraction from our everyday lives, but in fact it causes those consuming to further dwell into

Throughout history, anti-Semitism has been a reoccurring...
Throughout history, anti–Semitism has been a reoccurring problem in which the Dreyfus Affair was
an important event. The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal, which divided France from the
1890's to the early 1900's. It was a very important event in history. 1894 marked the start of a
revolution for Jewish people, as a French–Jewish artillery officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was
accused of treason (Isseroff). The accusations against Dreyfus were false all because he was a Jew.
Following his accusation Dreyfus accumulated many followers that became known as Dreyfusards
and there were also those who were against him called anti–Dreyfusards (Drefler). Alfred Dreyfus
was born into an upper middle class on October 9th 1859 in Mulhouse, ... Show more content on
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He was convicted of treason by court martial in December 1894 and sentenced to life imprisonment
in solitary confinement on Devil's Island, a prison off the coast of French Guiana (Derfler). Before
his deportation to Guiana he was publicly degraded and humiliated. This false conviction was based
on a list called the bordereau, which contained admission to secret French military information
(Dreyfus). This list was picked out of the garbage pail of Maximilian Von Schwartzkoppen, a
German military attach in Paris (Johnson). Many years passed before the truth was uncovered,
Dreyfus was innocent and although false information was used he was an easy target because the
writing in the bordereau matched his handwriting and the information came from an artillery officer
(Johnson). In 1899, Alfred Dreyfus was granted a presidential pardon and it is unwritten that he had
committed treason against Dragnev 3 France (Martin). It was a matter of life or death because
Dreyfus feared that he would not survive the well–known penal colony. The bordereau looked to
connect an artillery officer since it intended access to specific information regarding a new French
artillery weapon called the Modele 1890 120mm Banquet howitzer (Read). Along with the fact that
Dreyfus was a highly skilled artillery officer, he was

Film, By Max Horkheimer And Theodor Adorno
There is no doubt that film is a powerful mode of cultural production that caters to politicians,
academics, and the general public. We are, in our quotidian existence, unwittingly exposed to a
stunning amount of sensorial stimulation. Much of this stimulation comes from film, a form of
media that has captivated sociologists, psychologists, and philosophers. In the Frankfurt School,
Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno interpret the sociopolitical implications of film differently
from Walter Benjamin. Horkheimer and Adorno see film as a means to deceive and manipulate the
proletariat–although Benjamin critiques capitalist exploitation of film, he argues that film can serve
revolutionary purposes. In the context of historical film, Benjamin 's arguments are more convincing
than Horkheimer and Adorno 's; film is not inherently authoritarian or oppressive. Rather, the
manner film is employed socio–politically is what defines its roles in mass culture. In "The Culture
Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception," Horkheimer and Adorno argue that the bourgeoisie
use film as a means to impose control over the proletariat. They base their argument on how "culture
today is infecting everything with sameness" (Horkheimer 94). That is, the ubiquity of mass culture
allows for the bourgeoisie to "infect" everyone with certain notions. Horkheimer and Adorno view
film as a useful way of indoctrinating the masses–it quickly imparts information through the same
medium. When they contend how

The Media Production Program At Ryerson University
Polaroid photographs can be thought of as tangible moments in time. They give off vibes of
nostalgia and whimsy. These feelings lead me to incorporate Polaroid's in my personal media
artifact. And since I am in the Media Production program at Ryerson University, I found it
appropriate to apply what I learned digitally in Photoshop to represent myself in an assemblage of
hanging Polaroid's.
Corkboards are commonly used for reminders, organizing and possibly posting things we like on
them. These elements often come into play when I try to start a project. I often need to plan in
advance but even when I try to stay organized, I am scattered much like the board. The texts are
what I used to be inspired when I am creating something of my own. And like many aspects in life,
the Polaroid's and board have imperfections, but it is these imperfections build character. When
hung together they form a tapestry that tells a story of my life. I will now explain part of that story
by analyzing three of these texts from my collage by applying key concepts commonly studied in
popular culture.
Habitus, described by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu is the manifestation of culture through developed
habits and predispositions. Habitus can be thought of as the procedural memory one develops when
one improves in a sport by practicing it for many years (as cited in Cultural Capital, 2016). This
metaphor fits perfectly for something I love to watch and play: hockey.
Canada has been the catalyst that

Nature In Dialectic Of Enlightenment
In Dialectic of Enlightenment, through their discussion of nature's initial domination over man in
primitive society, by virtue of mankind's fear of the unknown and mana, and man's eventual
domination over nature through rationality and disillusionment, Frankfurt School philosophers
Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer conclude that there exists a paradox in which myths
already contain enlightenment just as enlightenment also already contains myths (11–12). Various
examples, such as the creation of myths, which contained enlightenment and rationality, the
prohibition surrounding the utterance of God's name, which still retained elements of mythology in
an enlightened world, and the blind reproduction of thought, which relapsed an enlightened world
back into mythology, support their argument.
Mana, the moving spirit, which was neither a subject nor an object, represented the intricacy and
complexity of nature compared to the primitive man. In the course of human history, even in its
earliest forms, human society has always reified observations in nature and inscribed them with
distinct meanings and stories. This pre–animism emerged as a response to the cruel volatility of
nature, where man feared the unknown, and began the first lines of separation of subject and object
(Adorno and Horkheimer, 15). The "gasp of surprise" or "cry of terror" which accompanied the
experience of the unusual and unfamiliar became synonymous to its name, contradictorily creating
both a subjective

Analysis Of Adorno And Horkheimer : Fact, Fiction, Or A...
Adorno and Horkheimer: Fact, Fiction, or a Little of Both? "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as
Mass Deception" by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer is a pivotal article in history that
changed the way in which many communications scholars viewed media. Both authors were
members of the Frankfurt School, a school of thought which looked further into Karl Marx's
theories about capitalism and the issues of mass production. Published in 1944, Adorno and
Horkheimer revealed their beliefs that the media, much like the economy, is becoming mass
produced, and is therefore turning people in society into media–consuming robots. Industrialization
created work lives for people in which they would work on only one part of a larger machine. As a
result, they felt less involved in the completion of the project as a whole, and therefore felt less pride
in their jobs and their lives in general. Instead, these people turned to media and pop culture so that
they would feel more fulfillment within their lives. Adorno and Horkheimer believed that these
people had a reduced capacity for original thought because media is now force feeding them the
ideas of what they can think and feel. This essay will prove that although Adorno and Horkeimer's
points were justified through the eyes of authors George Lipsitz, Lev Manovich, and Susan J.
Douglas, there are still exceptions to their theories that they do not account for. George Lipsitz in
"Popular Culture: This Ain't No Sideshow" agrees with

Minima Moralia by Theodor Adorno
In chapter 2 of the Minima Moralia, Theodor Adorno talks about the disintegrating family unit, the
loss of the partitioning between the public and private life. However, there seem to be
contradictions, or perhaps entanglements created by virtue of these 2 chapters inhabiting the same
text. This essay will attempt to disentangle some of these ideas in a "ludicrous quid pro quo fashion"
(Adorno, 1), whilst drawing some assistance from other areas, such as chapter 3, as well. And in
doing so, will unravel Adorno's ideas that violence is inescapable, that certain antagonistic dialectics
are necessary, and that not all conflict is bad conflict, thereby ultimately evoking the idea that there
is such a thing as benevolent antagonism and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In short, as theoretical buildup increases, inaccuracy increases. This insinuates an underlying belief I
share, in addition to Hobbes, that our senses are our most relatively reliable, and inescapable aspects
of ourselves. Every aspect of our cognition is either directly or indirectly influenced by our senses,
which then help us make sense of the world around us. Of course, reliance on ones senses is a
cardinal sin in philosophical reasoning. But the fact remains that every aspect of cognition is derived
from the senses, thus making the endeavor of 'running away' from our physical perceptions of the
world utterly futile. That said, whether or not this essay uncovers any solid, unequivocal any
philosophical truth from Adorno's text is perhaps unknowable, for this is merely an attempt at
improving accuracy. With that said, let us dive into Adorno's metaphor of the family– a metaphor
that introduces his larger concern of the dehumanizing capabilities of the productivity machine.
Before explicating this metaphor however, we must justify its usage in this argument that purports
that there is a difference between benevolent antagonism and dehumanizing antagonism (warring).
Adorno says, "One realizes in horror that when one as previously clashed

Essay Compare And Contrast Altemeyer's Approach To...
Outline the similarities and differences between Adorno et al.'s (1950) and Altemeyer's (1981)
approach to authoritarianism
The rise of fascism in Germany in the 1930's and the acts of aggression and atrocities committed by
the Nazis during the Second World War led to questions being asked as to why some people where
prone to such levels of violence and hate in the name of political ideology. The 'Authoritarian
Personality' was a concept suggested in 1950 by German sociologist Theodor Adorno and
colleagues following their research identifying the personality traits believed to allow an individual
to be bias towards and follow a fascist ideology. Although initially met with great excitement, over
time the authoritarian personality alone ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
(2012). Although Altemeyer's research also recognised and supported these findings his concept of
authoritarianism was different. He defined RWA not as personality type with fixed characteristics
but as a set of three attitudes similar to three of the characteristics Adorno et al also used to describe
the authoritarian personality:
Authoritarian submission: A high level of respect and submission to perceived legitimate authority
figures or establishments. Authoritarian aggression: Aggressiveness directed against targets
identified by the established authorities. Conventionalism: The aversion to new ideas with a
preference towards social norms which should be adhered to by all of the individual's society
(Bobbio et al 2007).
Although Altemeyer agreed with Adorno et al on what the behavioral and attitudinal features of
authoritarianism were, a key difference he put forward was his interpretation of where it actually
came from. Adorno et al took a psychoanalytical approach, as first popularised by Sigmund Freud in
the late 19th century to the explanation of the causes of authoritarianism. They claimed children
who experienced a strong level of parental discipline

Culture and Creative Industry Week 1 Essay
Week 2
2. Critical Theory and the Critique of the 'Culture Industry'
This lecture considers how the Critical Theorists of the Frankfurt School sought to understand the
relationship of culture and society in an age of advanced capitalism and mass media. It explores
their analyses of popular culture, and poses the question of whether the term 'culture industry' has
now lost its original, critical meaning.
Key thinkers: Marx, Gramsci, Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin
Seminar questions
1.Has the mechanical reproduction of art opened up possibilities of a more democratic appreciation,
or merely reduced it to the status of a commodity?
2.Has 'the Culture Industry' killed 'High Culture'?
Walter Benjamin (1936)
The Work of Art in the Age ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
223–224
How is this useful for media criticism
Film Criticism:
The difference between theater and film is also about loss of aura. A play (has aura) is always
different because the actors interact with the audience and each performance is unique. A film,
however has no audience–the actors usually only perform tiny fragments of the whole and generally
not even in order....movies are pieced together by editors. Film 也是一种reproduction。
Audience Reception:
Watching a film is a collective experience and each audience member is a critic–its part of the fun.
Think of a newsreel–when a group of people witness an event they are educated on something and
they can become politically active because of it (For example, although he was talking about the
potential for class revolt–Benjamin would be proven correct when American men and women were
motivated by newsreels in WWII美国人民在二战的时期受过新闻短片的影响。新闻短片在这儿
来看是一种political propaganda). 看新闻是一种educated你。受众是一种被动的过程，受众接
受what they want to tell you.
Capitalism/Fan Culture:
But just as the medium has the potential to be used in the Revolution, it cannot be because it is
controlled by capitalism (this might be a good connection to the Hollywood Censored book).

Because of the way capitalism operates, there is a false consciousness between the actors and
audience. The actors become held up as having "cult value" (ritual

Flaubert Madame Bouvary And Theodor Fontane No Way Back
Gustave's Flaubert Madame Bouvary and Theodor Fontane No Way Back are two classic books that
have a variety of connections. To begin with the context will be discussed with a close reference to
plot and characterisation in general. Following the techniques and themes will be critically analysed
and discussed what a comparison of these two passages will tell us about the novels as a whole.
Throughout the novels there are many similarities and differences which can be compared against
each other to receive a greater depth of understanding of the novel as one. Holk and Christine– a
family– are the main characters in No Way Back. Holk receives a letter from the princess and he is
forced to leave his family where during his stay he falls into the trap of adultery. Once he's back
their life is no longer the same and consequently Christine commits suicide. Moreover, the plot is
similar to Madame Bouvary's where she married Charles yet never feels satisfied with her love life
and has an affair with two other men during the novel. The ending is parallel to Fontane's novel as
the woman again commits suicide. Mutually the novels are considered classically themed as
adultery to what happened yet during the set passage there is a closer..................................
It is only through the techniques that the readers can see a three dimensional character and
......................... All the way through No Way Back the main narrator is Holk and the only time that
the narrator gives Christine a chance to covey the novel

What Is The Criticism Of Adorno
Adorno contrasts Benjamin's theory. Adorno, in his writings states that he believes technology and
the ability to recreate pieces of work has no possible positive repercussions. Adorno believes that the
ability to recreate something destroys the originality and value of the piece, but unlike Benjamin ,
Adorno sees no benefit in art forms being more widely available through the ability to record and
reproduce copies of such pieces, is not beneficial to the piece in any means. Adorno believes that
As a widely regarded twentieth century writer and one of the most foremost thinkers on aesthetics
and philosophy, as well as one of its pre–eminent essayists within the twentieth century and also a
leading member of The Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, which is also associated with writers
Ernst Bloch, Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse, and most importantly Walter Benjamin. These
writers were important critiques to the work of Freud, Marx and Hegel. Adornos critiqueing
focusses mainly on technology of modern society and how it is transforming 'art' into a reproducible
industry, destroying

The Aesthetics of Passion and Betrayal Essay
The Aesthetics of Passion and Betrayal In The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer uses the
visuality of spatial relationships in each shot with the human face and its ability to convey unspoken
emotion in his portrayal of the demise of Joan of Arc. Unlike most film, the message is almost
entirely told by just the eyes and expressions of the actors. There is very little reliance upon props
and background. The camera angles and close–up shooting accentuate emotions and reactions. The
editing style is almost methodic in keeping the emotional pace; it is much like an argument,
alternating images of Joan's tenacity, and the judges' contempt. The artistic elements of the film are
found in the subtle elements of the setting in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The overall stylization of the film's world can be taken to indicate the state of Joan's consciousness
with the flat spaces and shifting angles and framing.
The methodology used in shooting the film also holds metaphorical significance. There is a great
feeling of uncertainty created by the lack of accurate depth. With all the shots so close up and
backgrounds devoid of angles, color, and reference points, everything on the screen is placed in the
same plane visually. The lighting is also deceptive since there are few definitive shadows cast to
give definition to depth. The Passion of Joan of Arc is not without geometric motifs however. It is
noticeably evident that even though there are few well defined lines in the sets, when lines do
appear, they appear as a pair of lines intersecting in sharp angles. This is suggestive of the sharp
difference in Joan's viewpoint with that of her judges.
The eerily evil presence of the judges is due in part to the camera angles. The action of a scene is
rarely centered and the action position jumps around from scene to scene. Mocking grins from the
upper left corner and judges leaving Joan's cell in the bottom left corner. Also, the low camera
angles make the judges appear larger and more looming. They appear sheared off at the chest,
making them seem to float and glide instead

Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment Essay
Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment
'Myth is already enlightenment; and enlightenment reverts to mythology'
(Dialectic of Enlightenment XVI)
Adorno and Horkheimer's obscure and nihilistic text Dialectic of Enlightenment (DoE) is an attempt
to answer the question 'why mankind, instead of entering a truly human condition, is sinking into a
new kind of barbarism' (DoE, p.xi). The result is a totalising critique of modernity; a diagnosis of
why the Enlightenment project failed with no attempt to prescribe a cure. This is achieved by a
historical–philosophical study of the mythic world–view of animism and anthropomorphism and the
Enlightenment attempt to dissolve myth through objectification and instrumental reason. ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Stalinist Russia, the Fascist threat in Europe and American capitalism are equal indications of the
regressive process of Enlightenment, and all fall under the jurisdiction of their critique. We will see
the extent of this influence when class domination is considered, but what is already clear is that
Adorno and Horkheimer find the Marxist ideology untenable. From myth to enlightenment: the
substitution of domination for mimesis.
The motivation for enlightenment was already present in myth, it 'originates in human fear, the
expression of which is explanation, … man imagines himself free from fear when there is no
longer anything unknown'# (p.15–16). However, the mythic reaction to this fear differs from that
found in enlightenment. Myth attempts to make the unknown known through animism and
anthropomorphism, that is, it attributes a human explanation to the unknown forces of nature#. In
myth the subjective is not confined to man but is extended to the world and the objective and purely
independent is not yet realized#. The magician and shaman use ritual magic to influence nature but
never to dominate it. The tool of the shaman is mimesis (imitation in an attempt to influence) and
sacrifice. 'The magician imitates demons; in order to frighten them or appease them, he behaves
frighteningly or makes gestures of appeasement' (p.9) but neither this nor sacrifices are attempts to
control nature but are pleas to animistic forces

Theodor Herzl Summary
The first reading was about the origins of Zionism, and it was a portion of Theodor Herzl's pamphlet
discussing the importance of and the benefits of establishing a Jewish state. Written in the late 19th
century, it was clear from the pamphlet that anti–Semitism had been a problem in Europe for
centuries, and this was Herzl's solution to that problem. This is significant because it displayed the
reasons behind Zionism and the Jewish population's feelings about constantly facing discrimination
in Europe. The next source was the correspondence between Sir Henry McMahon and Sharif
Hussein Ibn Ali regarding the development of an independent Arab kingdom immediately following
World War I. Hussein laid out the demands that he wanted Great Britain

The Passion Of Joan Of Arc And Sweet Smell Of Success By...
Silent films ushered in the era of moving pictures and paved the way to modern cinema. Films such
as "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "Sweet Smell of Success" represent the early and later stages of
this time period that was dominated by silent films. Within these films, two actors stand out for their
performances and there own unique traits they utilize to make the character they are representing
their own. Renée Jeanne Falconetti and Burt Lancaster both are superb leading actors that, through
their own methods, make these characters come alive. Regardless of these performances though,
there are both similarities and differences that they portray in their movies. These films were shot
with cameras that lacked a multitude of settings and this led to a very theater–esque method of
filming. Many of these silent films were shot with non–moving cameras, obviously no sound, and
also less effects. [BRING UP READING IN REGARDS TO INTRO TO FILMS] This lack of
supplemental technology forced these actors to up their game so to speak and really carry the film
themselves, rather than saturate the screen with fancy effects that so many modern movies revolve
around. This forced the director to focus on the facial expressions of the cast in order to display both
tone and intent during every scene. Live music sometimes accompanied these films in order to help
set these moods so the actor could focus on character development and expression. The first
character to be discussed is

The Dialectic Of Enlightenment, And The Culture Industry
This essay will compare and contrast the view of authentic art with the account of The Culture
Industry laid out in Chapter One of the "Dialectic of Enlightenment" By Max Horkheimer and
Theodor Adorno. The implications of which will be explored for a critical theory in society. The
objective aim of the Dialectic of Enlightenment is to criticize the social and cultural conditions of
society by drawing out the insidious psychological messages from media and The Culture Industry
(Film, Radio, Music etc.) Adorno and Horkheimer notice a pattern, or "system of domination" being
imposed on us through seemingly innocent consumerist messages. They hoped to highlight the
extent that which the products we consume are imposed on us from the industry rather ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Both Horkheimer and Adorno take such a radical approach to autonomous art because they believe
that art has been overhauled by The Culture Industry. Using art as a means of mass deception,
coercion and control though the radical standardisation of arts form. The implications of The Culture
Industry on all aspects of life are vast. I believe that the capitalist system of domination is an
insidious machine that Horkheimer and Adorno have very accurately fleshed out in relation to the
conditions of capitalist society. They hoped to highlight the extent that which the products we
consume are imposed on us from the industry rather than arising spontaneously from the masses
disguised as demand and I believe they do so very well. However, the conclusion of the disillusion
with enlightenment, the exact purpose of the fragments is misguided. The conclusion that
enlightenment itself has fallen into this extreme state of standardisation and that the "enlightenment
becomes the wholesale deception of the masses) (DoE, 42) is over–emphasising the importance of
the culture industry and suppresses

Theodor Herzl
Initially, Zionism was the major cause of the formation of the State of Israel. It was established by
Theodor Herzl in 1897 and later led by Chaim Weizmann. Mr. Herzl was an assimilated Jewish
lawyer from Vienna that fully understood the Jews. He quoted once, "Zionism demands for a
publicly recognized and legally secured homeland in Palestine for the Jews. This platform is
unchangeable". The quote means that Zionism was established to request and achieve a homeland
for the Jews in Palestine and that no one can stop this from happening. Basically, this proves that
Mr. Herzl was a very supportive man towards the Jews and He understood what they needed. In
1894, Mr. Herzl was sent to France to investigate on the life imprisonment of a Jewish

Critical Theory and the Leading Theorists in Education...
Critical Theory and the Leading Theorists in Education Theorists play an important role in society
today. Members of the community look to these leaders of their field to help guide and make
understanding of the situations we approach in life. There are many different views on the topics in
society, especially education and how we learn. ________ The Critical Theory and leading theorist
have influenced how we view education and driven to shape our understanding of how we learning
in the world today. When learning about a topic it is beneficial to trace it back to the beginning.
According to Kincheloe & McLaren (2002), The Critical Theory originated in Frankfurt, Germany
after the devastation of World War I. They report The Critical ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
In 1933, Hitler was named Chancellor and closed the Institute in Frankfurt. The Institute had a
satellite office in Geneva where Horheimer relocated without his directorship. In 1934 Horkheimer
moved to New York. That summer he accepted an offer from Columbia University's the department
of sociology to relocate the Institute to one of their buildings. Theodore Adorno is another noted
Critical Theorist. Born in 1903 to opera singer, Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno loved music (Theodor
Adorno – Biography, n.d.). Between 1918 and 1919 it is recorded that he studied under Siegfried
Kracauer. In 1924, Adorno received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Frankfurt. It
is noted that while there he had also studied sociology, psychology and music. He spent his time of
exile in America. While there he observer the culture industry in Hollywood. "He argued that
popular media, the product of the culture industry and the opposite of 'true art', works to preserve
capitalism's dominance by keeping the population passive. The pleasure offered by standardized
mass media is illusory, and strictly in response to false needs created by culture, rather than having
any relation to true happiness." (Theodor Adorno – Biography, n.d.). In 1949, Adorno left the United
States to return to Frankfurt. After he returned to Germany, Adorno met Horkheimer where they
reconstituted

How the ‘Culture Industry’ had Profound Social Impacts in...
Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer were two renowned Jewish representatives of the Frankfurt
School of Critical Theory; they were particularly dominant during the early 20th century,
approximately around the time of the 1920's to 1960s. They took refuge in America after Adolf
Hitler's rise in Germany. These to philosophers developed the 'Culture Industry Theory' in the 1940s,
in light of the disturbed society they had seen during this time. They witnessed how Nazi Fascism
used mass media such as films, radio and newspapers to brainwash millions into partaking in this
ideology. Similarly they saw the rise of Capitalism in America, which also used mass media such as
Hollywood films and advertising to disseminate the masses into the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Adorno (1977) saw these elements as interchangeable without damaging the song. When applied to
the music industry in contemporary society artists such as Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Miley Cyrus
sound exactly the same, they use the same chords as each other. The use of standardisation in the
culture industry is to foster the false consciousness, passivity in order to easily manipulate society
into consuming these products and in the music industries case promote regressive listening and lead
to standardised reactions (Stratini, 2004). The ruling class maintain their power and control over
society through these practices. They create the false needs of society and produce products to
satisfy these needs, which leaves societies in a false satiated state (Stratini, 2004).
Pseudo–Individualism is the second process that produces reification (Adorno, 1977). For the
process of standardisation to be successful in manipulating society into consumerism and a false
consciousness, pseudo–individualism is crucial. Pseudo–individualism maintains the appearance
that a product is different and unique (Satrini, 2004). Adorno believes that the principal of
originality and individuality has always been contradictory. The individual is a notion that masses
are misleadingly made to believe (Adorno, 1977). It gives the impression of free choice in an open
market when it is actually deceiving people into consuming standardised products of the culture
industry. This process

Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction
In order to properly argue my point it is best to lay out the framework of Benjamin's argument.
Benjamin begins his essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" by briefly
distinguishing his categories from traditional aesthetic values, those of "creativity and genius,
eternal value and mystery" (Benjamin, 218). In contrast, he relates these tendencies to bourgeois and
fascist ideologies and to the conditions, inevitably generated out of capitalism itself, which provoke
"revolutionary demands in the politics of art" (217–8) Benjamin claims that in times past the role of
art has been to provide a magical foundation for the cult. Here the artwork's use value was located in
its central position within ritual and religious tradition (223–4). A statue or idol conveyed a sense of
authority, or magical power, which inhered in that particular historical artifact. The reproduction in
mass of such an item would have been unthinkable because it was a unique singularity, and it would
lose its "aura". He focuses on describing the objects aura, defining the aura as: We define the aura of
the later as the unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be. If, while resting on a
summer afternoon, you follow with your eyes a mountain range on the horizon or a branch which
casts its shadow over you, you experience the aura of those mountains, of that branch (222–3). The
term implies an atmosphere and a transcendent feeling that happens when you experience an object.

The Culture Industry : Enlightenment As Mass Deception?
Introduction In 1944, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, members of the Frankfurt School who
fled from the Nazi Germany to the USA, were publishing their seminal essay 'The Culture Industry:
Enlightenment as Mass Deception'. Political critique, their thesis about the ideological domination
of capitalism on cultural production is one that persists today and is regularly renewed (Mukerji &
Schudson, 1991). Yet, since the first half of the twentieth century, evolutions have occurred within
the 'Culture Industry', and while the theory – focusing primarily on the music and cinema industries
– is still applicable to some features of contemporary 'cultural industries' (Hesmondhalgh, 2007),
these changes require a contemporary reconsideration of it. Today, digital technology and the
Internet are deeply reshaping the motion picture industry with a trend toward the digitalisation and
disintermediation (Zhu, 2010). Media streaming services are an example of this current
restructuration. Providing an access to a wide collection of entertainment online at a cheap price,
they have penetrated the monopoly that cinema once enjoyed (Herberg, 2017). A significant
example can be found in the US company 'Netflix', source of nearly a third of all North American
downstream internet traffic at peak hours (Hallinan & Striphas, 2016). Once a small DVD
subscription service created in 1997, it offers today to its subscribers to watch its own produced
movies and shows as well as content of other

Article Summary And Reflection On Representation
Article Summary and Reflection on Representation
Naomi de Szegheo–Lang Destiny Simpson – 213121447 October 16th, 2014 GWST2511 6.00
Section A Term Y
INTRODUCTION Popularity contests are often notable within the modren media industry. This
composed report will outline "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception", composed
by Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer with the below objectives. It will investigate
representations of "Gender" and "Race". As well, it will provide primary focus on key concepts,
such as, "Mass Production" and "Culture Industry" . The above will be finished in detail while
utilizing Don Scardino 's series arrangement: 2 Broke Girls as an essential case/ spotlight and both
Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer's "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception".
SUMMARY A main concern of "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" is the
expression of what is viewed as a "Culture Industry". The term "Culture Industry" is expected to
allude to the business showcasing of society, the spectrum of the industry that deals particularly with
the generation of society that is rather than what's considered to be"Authentic Culture". In "The
Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" both Horkheimer and Adorno argue that
mechanically delivered society denies individuals of their creative ability and assumes control over
their reasoning for them. The Culture Industry conveys the products. In turn

Culture Industry In Dialectic Of Enlightenment By Theodor...
In his work, Dialectic of Enlightenment, Theodor Adorno analyzes the nature of the culture industry.
People everywhere are constantly being consumed by the culture industry, which is a term for the
mass production of cultural goods such as films, magazines, and music. Adorno is concerned that
the government uses the cultural industry as a way to deceive the masses and manipulate them into
passivity. This idea remains true in today's society. Young men and women are more interested in the
release of the newest Taylor Swift or Adele song than political issues. People have become less
intellectual as they are being consumed by the culture industry. It is much easier for a person to let
himself be consumed by mass media and to let the media ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
They just accept it as a part of modern society because it is easier to go along with the system rather
than try to resist it. The culture industry affects everything in today's society. Adorno states, "The
whole world is passed through the filter of the culture industry" (99). Everywhere people go, there
are billboards, commercials, and advertisements that demand their attention. Before seeing a movie,
one must sit through previews of other movies that may interest them, as the theater hopes that the
moviegoer returns to watch another movie. In the culture industry, people no longer exist as
individuals. They only exist as objects that increase the wealth of the big business owners that
control this capitalistic society. Because no one contests the existence of the culture industry, the
culture industry can continue to exist. About the film and radio industries, Adorno states, "They call
themselves industries, and the published figures for their directors' incomes quell any doubts about
the social necessity of their finished products" (95). Creating unique and groundbreaking films in
today's world is considered "risky," and filmmakers would rather create sequels to films that were
successful in the box office. People excitedly consume these sequels and the directors make huge
profits, thereby ensuring yet another sequel to be made. Adorno also points out that the film and
radio

Jurassic Park : The Plot Of Jussic Park
Though the plot of Jurassic Park is compelling to audiences, the development of the brand has not
relied on the actual story itself. The very nature of the film allows for the promotion of Jurassic Park
as a commodity to be enjoyed even after the audience leaves the theatre. The film's plot was
designed with the intent to generate revenue outside of the box office in it's subtle advertising to
viewers for the theme park, merchandise, sponsors, and development of the franchise itself.
The premise of the film is to introduce the concept of the Park to a group of scientists. In many
ways, the content of the film is reflective of the introduction of Jurassic Park to the public as a
concept worth spending on. The economic incentive of creating and advertising the film was
tremendous and therefore corporations were interested in gaining some of the traction of the Jurassic
Park mega–commercial. Two of the main obvious product placements in Jurassic Park are that of
Barbasol shaving cream and Jeep. The brands were able to incorporate their advertising into the plot
of the film. The Barbasol was used to smuggle the mosquito with the dinosaur embryos and the Jeep
Wranglers are the official staff vehicles of the park. In this contribution to the plot, the brands are
able to develop the brand of Jurassic Park.
Elements of the film and real life promotion were combined, making it very self–reflexive. The
same logo used for the Jurassic Park within the plot is used to promote the movie

Modern Film On Our Rational And Critical Thought Processes
Frankfurt School philosophers fiercely debated the effects of modern film on our rational and
critical thought processes. Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno assert film is an oppressive
technology that makes us intellectually docile, while Walter Benjamin contests their assertion by
recognizing film 's liberatory potential. Although Horkheimer and Adorno make important points
about the current relationship between film and the masses, they fail to acknowledge any possible
changes to it. In the context of futurity, Benjamin presents a convincing argument–the technology of
film can create subjectivities that will help the masses assimilate into modernity. Horkheimer and
Adorno 's understanding of film reflects our current reality. Although Benjamin acknowledges film
's current state, he envisions a future where film trains us to cope with the pressures of modernity. In
"The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception," Horkheimer and Adorno argue film
oppresses our ability to think critically. They base their argument on how "culture today is infecting
everything with sameness" (Horkheimer 94). That is, the ubiquitous nature of film "infects"
everyone with identically diseased notions. The connotations of "infection" are clear: affliction,
contamination, and disorder. For Horkheimer and Adorno, the "infection" (film created by the
bourgeois cultural elite) forces us into a state of mental lethargy–the masses uniformly accept film
content with "little resistance"

Adorno And Horkheimer Mass-Deception
Preface
Within this paper I will describe Adorno and Horkheimer best known work in their article, The
Cultural Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. I will describe in great detail their concept of
the culture industry and its mass deception on society. Then, I will compare Adorno and
Horkheimer's view of the creator and receiver to that of the Birmingham School touching on both
their similarities and differences. Lastly, I will explain both schools influence on sociology and
sociological research concerning mass cultural production and describe how an empirical study
based on both schools would compare.
Horkheimer & Adorno– The Culture Industry
Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer studied Sociology within called the Frankfurt School. The
Frankfurt school was founded in 1924 in Germany at Goethe University. The aim of the Frankfurt
school, according to Horkheimer, was to study "the interconnection between the economic life of
society, the psychic development of the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Structuralism is based off looking at the structures, or the bigger picture within a study. Since
Adorno and Horkheimer are concerned with the mass–deception that is created by the larger
structures in society such as the entertainment industry, an empirical study today would look similar
to that. The study could focus on the use of advertisements to create mass–deception but it would
not be a study of individual behavior as so much one of the larger institutions within society.
Methods that would be used would be perhaps a literature reviews, a survey on different
advertisements and their purpose and a survey of people's perceptions of advertisements and their
purpose. For the study the goal is to study the effects of the creator on the social world and its
receivers and study the links between them all, as in the cultural diamond explained in the

What Is An Example Of Consumerism In Fight Club
In Fight Club, there are multitudes of examples of the culture industry and its effects on the masses.
As an audience, it can be seen from two different perspectives; the first is in terms of the Narrator
and the second is through Tyler Durden, a second personality of the narrator who suffers from
mental illness. The narrator lives an empty life and tries to find meaning or purpose through the
IKEA catalogue while decorating his home. In turn, Tyler is the exact opposite he doesn't answer to
anybody, he does what he wants, when he wants and doesn't let anything or anyone stop him.
Evidently this is the version of himself that the narrator wants to be, as he lives vicariously through
Tyler, which he is unaware is his own imagination for the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
As an audience, throughout the film it is evident that there is a significant contrast between the
narrator and Tyler as they view many things differently. Just like the Fight Club and the IKEA
furniture, the narrator becomes obsessed with Tyler and the life he leads. When Tyler is first
introduced as a passenger on the airplane, the narrator is immediately drawn to him in a way that is
different than any other person he has met. He feels a connection with him that he has not felt
before, which is why he calls him when his apartment burns and he loses all of his important IKEA
furniture. Tyler tells him it's "just stuff" (Fight Club) and "the things you own end up owning you"
(Fight Club), which completely contradicts everything the narrator had previously believed about
his home and the furniture. Through Tyler, the narrator starts to lose his need for material objects
when Tyler tells him "Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be
complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... let's evolve, let the chips fall where they may" (Fight
Club), instead he focuses on the fighting and his friendship with Tyler since he has finally found
something that fills the void in his life and gives it meaning. Though it may seem abstract that Tyler
would fit into this argument, it all comes together at the end of the film when the audience finds

Comparing Theodor Adorno And Jurgen Habermas
Theodor Adorno and Jurgen Habermas were both members of the German Frankfurt School
(Frankfurter Schule). Explain why these figures figure so largely in media studies, what these
theorists had in common and what separated them, especially in terms of ideas on political
economy?
With the controversial increase in the concentration of media ownership in the UK over the past
thirty years there is no wonder that Neo–Marxist critical theory has become more prominent in the
examination and study of media. Theodor Adorno and Jurgen Habermas, members of the German
Frankfurt School, both apply Marxist Hegelian basis in their critiques of media and its interaction
with the public. This essay explores why Adorno and Habermas figure so largely in ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1965). A decline in popularity of this movement suggests that what
Adorno is posing is in fact of great importance specifically when analysing media and entertainment
trends.
Habermas however theorises the idea that there is an existence of a public sphere, which is
essentially a 'made up of private people gathered together as a public and articulating the needs of
society with the state' (Habermas, J., Lawrence, F. and Burger, T. The structural transformation of
the public sphere. Cambridge, MASS: The MIT Press 1989). This public sphere, through act of
assembly 'generates opinions and attitudes which serve to affirm the affairs of state' (Media–
studies.ca, 2017) and is required to 'legitimate authority in any functioning democracy' (Habermas,
J., Lawrence, F. and Burger, T. The structural transformation of the public sphere. Cambridge,
MASS: The MIT Press 1989). Habermas also commented upon how there has been a creation of a
bourgeois public sphere which is separate from the public as citizens became more concerned with
consumerism and less with political matters, therefore distancing themselves from this new public
sphere. In turn the media developed from a means of citizens gaining information on politics and
society into a medium of advertising and a method of political forces which resulted in a less public
inclusive public sphere. The idea of the public sphere is important when examining media practices
as through the

Biography Of Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno And Max...
Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were alltheorists of the Frankfurt School
and they were the first to introduce the idea of the "culture industry, the mass marketing of culture in
the modern era. However, Walter Benjamin gives a different perspective on the role of culture in
modern society, he believed that the possibility of mechanical reproduction (photography) was
demolishing the integrity of art in modern society . He gives the example of the Mona Lisa painting
by leonardo da vinci. The painting has a specific the existence and particular location but with
mechanical reproduction it can be copied multiple different times and occupy more than one place at
a time. The question posed by Benjamin is what are we missing ... Show more content on
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For Benjamin, the mechanical production of art "democratizes cultural production" Thus It loses its
aura and authority as it becomes available to everyone. We can extend this to an analysis of media
today in which everyone can be an actor and everyone can be a producer; the difference between
high art and the popular culture are blurred. Therefore, from these two Frankfurt theorists we have a
different view of the culture and the culture industry. Benjamin focuses on the "democratization of
culture" that is made available by the production of art while Adorno and Horkheimer argue the
ways in which art become more linked to commercial exploitation. It can be suggested through the
readings of Adorno and Horkheimer 's work that they seem to be eliciting the question of whether
people believe everything that the culture tells them and trying to make sense of the distinct
differences between the messages of the culture industry and the public's realities thus creating an
environment where autonomous independent individuals, who are able to think for themselves, can
form. Both theorists seem to be exploring how cultural meaning is generated and believe that the
structures which promote and deliver these messages of cultural influence is powerful. It is safe to
say that we may be

Theodor Herzl Analysis
The European Jewish thinkers, Theodor Herzl, Ahad Ha'am and Simon Dubnow, all agreed that
Jews were to experience severe problems by the late nineteenth century. However, they differed in
their assessment of the value of Jewish life and culture in the Diaspora. Furthermore, they differed
in their expectations for the future of Jewish life and culture. This midterm will address the
differences these European Jewish thinkers had, specifically on their views on language, culture, and
location of the Jewish state. It will also compare what they believed was the solution to the problems
Jews faced and how they went about to remedy these problems through the political and cultural
ideologies they created or inspired. To begin with, Theodor Herzl truly changed the Jewish and the
rest ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He goes on quite extensively in The Jewish State on how he felt the new state should be structured
in terms of labour and economics and, according to him, the migration of Jews into the new state
would be slow and gradual. It would start with the poorest of Jews who will "go first to cultivate the
soil" (Herzl "The Jewish State") and construct the means of transportation. Through their labour
trade will be created, ultimately creating markets and attracting more settlers. The political ideology
that he truly felt would accomplish this sort of state was one that created an aristocratic republic
form of government which would "satisfy the ambitious spirit in [Jews]" (Herzl "The Jewish State").
The form of government had to be an aristocratic one with the Society of Jews being the main vessel
because "short–sighted or ill–disposed" (Herzl "The Jewish State") people could not be the ones
making or interpreting the decisions. If there were any oppositions, they needed to be supressed by
the Society so that mistakes could not be made in this new state. In regards to language and culture,
Theodor Herzl was an intellectual from central Europe and his sense of Jewish nationalism

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