Tawny N post 8

Tawny Najjar

In today’s society, it is inevitable that the public will at some time be influenced and swayed by the media. These influential entities can take the form of television shows, musical compilations, or series of paintings. As technology has advanced, there has been a growing idea of a mass media, in which art is homogenized and commodified. This mass media is quite different from the previous forms of autonomous art, yet it is slowly gaining power and influence. In his writings, Adorno denounced this mass media, stating that it is dangerous and stifling to the culture of the public. The mass media, under the disguise of innovation and advancement, has slowly been stripping away people’s ability to think for themselves and to develop their own ideas and perceptions of the world around them.

The idea of mass media relies on the concept of uniformity and repetitiveness. There are standards for what kinds of pieces of art are allowed to be viewed, as well as standards on how they are viewed. These norms come from a totalitarian point of view, attempting to eliminate all forms of free-thinking, and instead replace them with ideas and concepts that have already been thought of and processed. This leads to the media doing the thinking for the spectator, instead of allowing the viewer to look at a piece of art and make his or her own assumptions and opinions about it. In Adorno’s eyes, these representations of pre-conceived ideas are “just business made into an ideology in order to justify the rubbish they deliberately produce” (The Culture Industry 1). This “rubbish” includes the notion that spectators should not try to think outside of the box, but rather be content with the message that is blatantly stated in that media.

In Adorno’s opinion, the mass media has a negative affect on both the artist and the viewer. As the mass media continues to gain power and develop alternative ways to speak to the public, it in effect becomes closer in achieving its goal of “integration.” Mass media has always been around, but as technology advances, the ideals of conformity and conventionalism become more clear-cut and obvious. The art world now is told quite plainly what to do or not to do, concerning what issues it can present and how they are presented. There are strict rules and guidelines that artists must follow when creating their works. These rules are not physically written, but rather understood. This takes away from artists’ creativity, because they are now confined to certain standards if they want to have their work be accepted by the public. An artist can come up with their own idea of what they want to create and what message they want it to have, but they do not have complete control over their art. “Although the author’s motivations certainly enter the artifact, they are by no means all-determining as is often assumed. As soon as the artist has set himself his problem, it obtains some kind of impact of its own; and he has to follow the objective requirements of his product much more than his own urges of expression when he translates his primary conception into artistic reality” (How to Look at TV 226). The artist can move in any direction he wants, but the amount of movement that he is allowed is rigidly restricted by a figurative leash. This is illustrated by Adorno’s idea that “society is always the winner, and the individual is only a puppet manipulated through social rules” (How to Look at TV 220).

The spectators are also given a false impression that they have more freedom than they really do. They are under the illusion that they have the ability to make their own decisions and have original ideas. However, the majority of the ideas or decisions that people come up with concerning art or types media most likely have already been thought of and developed. Therefore, those “original” and “imaginative” thoughts and choices are mere repeats of ideas that have already been introduced to society. As Adorno writes, “We’re right back to a chained existence of illusion and shadows” (Adorno Power Point). The mass media also influences the expectations of the spectator. Before truly listening to a piece of music or watching a film, the viewer is able to develop his or her own expectations of what that media will be like. Some one can put in a classical music CD and expect to hear soft, melodic instruments. Before hearing that specific musician, the listener is already expecting to be relaxed by the chords and pitches that are associated with that genre of music. The experiences of the spectator influence his or her expectations of art. In turn, these expectations carry through to real world situations. After watching movies and “reality” television shows, the viewer will begin to think that those situations that occur on the screen reflect exactly what happens in everyday life. Therefore, the way that those situations are dealt with during those shows are the correct way to handle some similar situation in real life. Mass media places importance on stereotypes; in shows, there is always a “good guy” and a “bad guy.” The culture industry uses these stereotypes and set frames of reference to make life seem black and white. Good is good, and bad is bad. Change is a negative thing, and sticking to ideals and morals that have long been established is a positive thing. By drilling this mentality into the spectators minds, the culture industry can keep the status quo. They develop an idea of “normalcy,” and advocate that this normal way of life is the right way in order to keep people from speaking out. As more stereotypes are developed, the spectators will come to depend on them more. These stereotypes become their safety net, something they know and recognize. They bring order, even if the message that they are sending is incorrect. In general, most people want to avoid hardships and complications as much as possible. As their experiences make their lives more complicated and “opaque,” people tend to cling to their stereotypes, the clichés, because these bring order to their lives, when nothing else seems to make sense. This may make life less complicated, but it blinds people to reality, harsh as it may be. By clinging to their stereotypes, people lose true insight into reality and lose the chance to have future experiences inspire them and change their way of thinking (How to Look at TV 230). Plato talks about this in his metaphor, Plato’s Cave. The characters trapped in the cave are brought up to see only what they are meant to see. Some one else controls what these prisoners are exposed to, therefore controlling their ideas and perceptions of reality. In the same sense, the culture industry attempts to control the spectators’ perceptions of reality. They advocate normalcy and “safe thinking,” in order to keep the viewers calm and docile. This “black and white” way of thinking not only restricts the spectators, but the artists as well. Artistic productions must deal with issues matter-of-factly instead of abstractly, and present them in terms of how they impacted the public. By taking this approach, people become “objectified,” studied for their responses to certain stimuli. The culture industry watches to see how people respond to different scenes or ideas in order to find a way to control people and bend their wills to the will of the mass media. Adorno continuously stressed in his writings that people were being used as “tools” for the culture industry, because the industry was using them to gain power and influence. By convincing people that what they really wanted was simplicity, the culture industry made them weaponless. It swayed their thinking so that they leaned more towards the realistic versions, rather than the artistic versions. Realism does not present ideas and ways of thinking that are uncomfortable and that make life more difficult for people. More importantly, it dulls their imagination and ability to think outside of the box, leaving them vulnerable to be used by the culture industry for its own gain.

Throughout the years, the culture industry has grown and expanded exponentially. When the television was first invented, there were only a few channels. Today, there are millions of channels, covering a variety of topics and reaching out to people of different interests and backgrounds. Radio stations now have different music to appeal to people’s varying tastes, and films cover every genre, from comedy to action to horror. The culture industry studied what the public liked, and then developed ways to meet those needs. Since the standards were based on the needs of the consumers, the culture industry met little resistance. This lead to an increase in manipulation and retroactive need in which “the unity of the system grew even stronger” (Culture Industry 1). In addition, as the technology advanced, the new inventions continuously took away the people’s ability to think for themselves, because they became steadily reliant on that source to provide for their needs and to give them the information that they required. This became a chain effect, because as more people became dependant on a certain technology, such as television, others too were required to conform in order to be able to relate to those people who had already become dependant on that source. If one person was watching a reality television show and apply those stereotypes and concepts to their real life, the people around him would need to know about the thing that was inspiring him. This would lead to them being exposed to that mass media. As Adorno stated, “the man of leisure has to accept what the culture manufacturers offer him” (Culture Industry 1).

The ways that the culture industry developed their products differ greatly from free and imaginative art. In the mass media, there is a demand for perfection. The consumers want reliable information and have a “desire for ‘services’” (How to Look at TV 217). The products are aimed at a “disillusioned, alert, and hard-boiled audience” who expect up-to-date, “realistic” media. By doing so, “the accents on inwardness, inner conflicts, and psychological ambivalence…have given way to complete externalization and consequently to an entirely unproblematic, cliché-like characterization” (How to Look at TV 217). The products of the mass media aim at “producing or reproducing the very smugness, intellectual passivity, and gullibility that seem to fit in with totalitarian creeds” (How to Look at TV 222). These products are rules by strict standards and rules, concerning how the products are made and what message they are sending. They must first be easily accessible to the masses in order to make a profit. Mass media is developed by a group rather than an individual to ensure efficient production. It must have normalized themes, literal meanings, identifiable genres, standard stories and plots, and predictability for the consumers (Adorno Power Point). However, in this time of efficient production, producers do not have as much time to put into developing well-thought out scripts and ideas. They instead follow a certain formula to make the process quicker. This concept of using formulas extends to television, musical performances, and plays as well. For these, there is a certain time frame that is allowed, so producers use formulas to fit their work into the allotted time frame. The mass media is very formulaic and dry, feeding on efficiency and reality, rather than creativity and intrigue.

The mass media wanted to appeal to the general public. This poster of Cinderella displays the clichés that people are so willing to embrace. The message that it sends is: “good,” beautiful people are one day rewarded. It is the typical rags to riches story, a story that everyone secretly wishes will happen to them someday. The Disney film Cinderella was widely produced, and viewed by millions of people. It was not controversial, and had the stereotypes of the hero, heroine, and villain. The heroes were always depicted as beautiful and pure, while the villain was ugly. There were no controversial issues, but rather watered-down, cliché themes, such as “follow your dreams” or “listen to your heart.” This film was one of the millions of examples of mass media that fulfilled the audience’s need for a simple, pure story, instead of a controversial, “in-your-face” story.

In freely and imaginatively created arts, the artwork does not aim to serve some purpose or fulfill the public’s need. Its sole purpose is to be an outlet for the artist, and means for him to channel his emotions and ideas. Art can have certain meanings and messages, but they are interwoven into the painting, rather than blatantly stated in mass media. Instead of being literal and realistic, autonomous art can be figurative, multifaceted, and imaginative, bringing forth new ideas and relations (Adorno Power Point). This kind of art is about expression and looking within to find meaning, rather than having some one else tell you what to think or see. It leaves room for spontaneity and soul-searching, allowing the viewer to think outside of the box and leave the realism of the world to enter into some unknown dimension, where the only things there are the viewer’s thoughts and dreams. Art lets the viewer daydream and have ambitions; it does not gloss over the flaws in society, but rather brings them to light. It encourages the public to challenge popular belief and to expand its way of thinking and viewing life.

In this painting by Pablo Picasso, there is no obvious meaning, nor any easy explanation of the content. Garcon a la Pipe (2004) displays the artist’s freedom of expression. Picasso painted, not to appeal to the public, but to show his emotions and thoughts. The content of this painting is not necessarily pleasing to the masses, but that was not his intention. His intention was to make people think, to force them outside of their safety net into the harsh reality of exposing themselves to some new idea. Picasso’s works made many viewers feel uncomfortable because they did not fit into a defined, “normal” genre of art. That was Picasso’s very intention.

Adorno saw the Culture Industry’s use of mass media as detrimental and dangerous to people. It took advantage of their gullibility and need for normalcy, and used their reactions as a means to advance itself. Mass media is the opposite of creative art, because it avoids controversy and uses formulas to find a way to appeal to a large scale of people. Art is not meant to appeal to the public’s needs, but rather to express the artist’s emotions and views. Mass media avoided producing things that made people think, and instead tried to control their thoughts to make them docile.

http://mariaflorea.blogspot.com/2007/07/perfect-weekend-destination.html

http://www.pet-portraitartist.com/old-masters/artists/Pablo-Picasso.htm