Culture Industry and the Modern World

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer paint a bleak picture of what they refer to as the “culture industry” in The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception [1]. In this model, Adorno and Horkheimer frame entertainment outlets such as radio, film, and magazines as “infecting everything with sameness” [2]. This is exemplified in Adorno and Horkheimer’s description of the transition from phone to radio in which they describe radio as a mechanism which turns the population into listeners; effectively removing the ability of the user to reply and subjecting the greater population to select programming, which ultimately strips users of their individuality [3]. Essentially what Adorno and Horkheimer are getting at appears to be that the breakdown in conversation between the user and the source allows the source to mold the user’s perception on societal norms.

In considering Adorno and Horkheimer’s culture industry, it is important to note that this was formulated before the dawn of computers and the internet. In Lev Manovich’s Remixing and Remixability, Manovich notes that these new advances have allowed the users to “modularize” modern culture rather than the culture industry [4]. This is seen anywhere from modern social media to users making modifications on their favorite video games. In this sense it is clear that advancements in what would seem to be the culture industry has actually allowed the user to gain input in what they’re subjected to rather than having norms pushed on them almost exclusively from the culture industry.

This is an exciting development in that the dialogue of societal norms is now more clearly shared between the culture industry and its audience. That being said this dialogue has not yet reached the point in which the users can achieve individuality in the eyes of Adorno and Horkheimer. However, the modern state of the culture industry is undoubtedly much brighter than it was in the days of Adorno and Horkheimer thanks to the emergence of new technology and the internet.


[1] Adorno, Theodor. Dialect of Enlightenment: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception. California: Stanford University Press.

[2] Adorno, Theodor. Dialect of Enlightenment: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception. California: Stanford University Press. pg. 94.

[3] Adorno, Theodor. Dialect of Enlightenment: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception. California: Stanford University Press. pg. 95-96.

[4] Manovich, Lev. "Remixing and Remixability." Jan. 2005. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. . pg. 7.