2. “To Write Poetry
After Auschwitz
“TO WRITE POETRY AFTER
is
AUSCHWITZ IS BARBARIC”
Barbaric”
(ADORNO)
(Adorno)
3. Max Horkheimer
Theodor Adorno
Both born in Germany around the turn of the century
Both were Marxist scholars & philosophers
4. Max Horkheimer
Theodor Adorno
Horkheimer fled Nazi Germany to Los Angeles
Adorno was denied a teaching position at a university
because he was Jewish.
Dialectic of the Enlightenment written 1944, published
1947
5. The Culture
Industry
“Movies and radio need no longer pretend to be art. The truth that they
are just business is made into an ideology in order to justify the rubbish
they deliberately produce. They call themselves industries; and when
their directors’ incomes are published, any doubts about the social utility
of the finished products is removed” (1111)
Product of capitalism
Art no longer exists for the purpose of the connection on an individual
level, its purpose is to connect with as wide an audience as possible
Andy Warhol
The original Toy Story grossed $361,958,736
6. “People know what they want
because they know what
other people want” (Adorno)
“It is alleged that because millions participate in it,
certain reproduction processes are necessary that
inevitably require identical needs in innumerable places
to be satisfied with identical goods” (1111)
“Needs” implies a strong, pre-determined response
The culture industry plays on insider/ outsider
dynamic
De-individualization
7. ...But can it
deliver?
“The culture industry does not sublimate; it represses. By
repeatedly exposing the objects of desire, breasts in a
clinging sweater or the naked torso of the athletic hero, it
only sublimates the unsublimated forepleasure which
habitual deprivation has long since reduced to masochistic
semblance” (1117-8).
The culture industry hooks and maintains control over
the consumer by stimulating desire
It is a desire that does not exist within reality, so it can
never truly satiate the needs of the consumer
8. Gesamptkunstwerk
“The sound film, far surpassing the theater of illusion, leaves no room for
imagination or reflection on the part of the audience, who is unable to
respond within the structure of the film, yet deviate from its precise detail
without losing the thread of the story; hence the film forces its victims to
equate it directly with reality” (1113)
Blend of visual and audio medium leaves no space for imagination by
the viewer
The culture industry tells us how we should feel about a product by
blending seamlessly with reality
Product placement
Recoding of reality; turning life into a big shopping mall
9. The Illusion of
Individuality
“The ruthless unity in the culture industry is evidence of
what will happen in politics. Marked differentiations
such as those of A and B films, or of stories in
magazines in different price ranges, depend no so much
on subject matter as on classifying, organizing, and
labeling consumers” (1112)
We desire to see our reflection in the goods we
purchase, but these are arbitrarily predetermined
distinctions made by the culture industry itself
10. Toy Story 2
Scene at 41:00
Buzz encounters hundreds of reproductions of himself
at Al’s Toy Barn
11. Futility of the
Utility Belt
Buzz considers himself to be above the influence of
the culture industry, he knows he is a toy, but is drawn
in by the utility belt; it is a product he did not know he
wanted until he saw it on the others just like him
Buzz cannot tell the difference between
representation perpetuated by the culture industry
and the real
The utility belt does nothing, it is a mere marker of
differences by the culture to bring in higher profit
12. De-
Individualization
The “other” Buzz uses the same rhetoric as the
“real” Buzz from the first film
Both voiced by Tim Allen
Anything can be replaced because it is mass
produced resulting in a loss of sentimentality
We don’t expect meaning to be in anything
13. Barbie
Varieties of Barbie; distinction only in clothes/ hair
color
Demonstrates the manipulation of the consumer
14. Merchandizing
“Back in 1995 short sighted retailers did not order
enough dolls to meet demand”
Commerce based on the film is incredibly popular in
toys, games, costumes, etc.
The blending of film and real life as indistinguishable
is seen here
