Explain T. Adorno and M. Horkheimers critique of the culture industry Essay

Explain T. Adorno and M. Horkheimers critique of the culture industry and discuss whether these are still relevant for understanding cultural production today - Essay Example Therefore, culture is produced and consumed like any other industrial commodity. According to Theodor Adorno, commercialisation of culture is a capitalistic idea whose main goal is to maximise profit. Culture is the slave of the corporate which is used to gain profit. To achieve their goal, the culture on the market must be attractive to the larger segment of the group or society (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1979). Theodor Adorno and Horkheimer have critically analysed the concept of a culture industry. They view the idea as a continuation of a capitalistic system, which aims to reduce cost of production while increasing profit. In a pure capitalistic setting, the factors of production are used efficiently to attain maximum benefits. For example, workers are paid according to their input contribution, which encourage high labour utility. Marxist theory predicted that the capitalist system will eventually fall because it will trigger a social revolution from the exploited workers. The work o f the two scholars is pointing out why the social revolution did not happen as anticipated by Marx. Mass media technology is the main factor of production in industrial culture, which includes; use of radio, television and publications. Mass media technology allows information to spread quickly to a large audience (Bottomore, 1984). To understand the critic of Adorno and Horkheimer, it is important to note that they are products of the German culture, which they viewed as superior to the popular culture of many western nations. They referred their culture as high culture that educates and motivates people. On their observation, popular culture is not exciting, and it enhances uniformity in a society. To these analysts, culture industry leads to standardisation in the society, which refers to being accustomed to the products of the culture industry. This makes the public to be addicted to the mass culture and forget to challenge the inequality of the ruling economic system (Marcuse, 1964). In their theory of pseudo individuality, they claim that the culture industry makes an individual a commodity of trade, which is produced and sold in mass. For instance, a music work of an artist can be reproduced in mass and sold to consumers. The artist involved is advertised and treated like any other industrial product making person lose their individual identity as a human being (Adorno, 2001). According to two scholars, the mass culture is the trickery system that politicians use to attain their desired goals, so the popular culture is the tool that enables them to gain support of the masses. For example, during the Second World War, the mass entertainment and information was used to rally Americans to approve and support a war that was long and costly (Kellner, 2003). According to Jarvis (1998) mass media is a deception idea which is meant to enslave the public. Popular culture is the product of all the social classes in a society, but commercialisation of culture diff erentiated the structure so that they can sell to the larger group in the market. The corporations involved in production and marketing of culture are inherently capitalistic hence they propagate capitalistic ideology. The theorist found the mass media to be blind of the social inequalities in a society. It makes people forget the plain truth of economic and social differences, making them appear as if they are living in a dark cave. Just like in a capitalist system, culture industry uses its own ways of dominance to ensure the control of the masses and the continuity of the system. Therefore, the mass media is the main tool of dominance in the culture industry, which ensures people consume the products of the industry (Martin-Barbero, 1993). It encourages people to forget

The coca-cola Company struggles with Ethical Crises Case Study

The coca-cola Company struggles with Ethical Crises - Case Study Example Coca cola Company, one of the most revered and common soft drink manufacturers in the world has had to deal with a number of ethical complaints against it. The company has had a number of influential business people serving various positions within its ranks, including Warren Buffet who served in the company’s board. In this paper, one out of a number of the ethical misdeeds raised against Coca Cola Company will be analyzed. In this analysis, the company’s response to the issues raised by the company and how it affected the success and operations of the business will be discussed. The economic and social impacts of the complaints against the company will also be discussed in line with differential business practices and response to ethical concerns (Jennings, 2011). Ethical concerns Just like any manufacturing company, coca cola has had a number of ethical challenges especially on their manufacturing and package practices. In 1999, the company was faced with one of the most dreaded ethical concern that arose after the safety of its products was questioned. The source of this questioning arose after thirty Belgian children developed health complications after consuming a wide range of the company’s products. This forced the company to react immediately by recalling its Belgian based products to enable them conduct tests to confirm the source of the illnesses (Jennings, 2011). ... This created a major public outcry with the media giving the company a lot of negative publicity. These developments forced the company’s management to give a detailed apology to enable them gain the public confidence that was forced fading. This was the end of the company ethical manufacturing practices as France followed suit and banned all products from the company after a number of coca cola consumers developed complications. Other products from the company like the coca cola water that was being supplied to Poland reported the presence of mould, fungi that are harmful to human health (Jennings, 2011). Coca Cola Company and the community Organizations today have more roles, not just to the stakeholders and the consumers but to the general population and the society. In this regard, Coca Cola Company has not been left behind in developing proper community based projects and serving in different roles as part of its corporate social responsibility. To enable the company rega in the trust of the community as a whole and recapture the mass consumers, especially those who migrated to other brands like Pepsi, the coca cola company have developed a number of programs that targets the community (Kesler, 2012). These projects are supported and coordinated by its philanthropic and community based wing known as the coca cola foundation. Through this foundation, the company is engaged in community development and environmental programs in different parts of the world, especially in countries where it operates its subsidiaries. It funded the education on wheel program in Singapore in which students were allowed to learn different historical developments in the country through interactive mobile visits. This program has been lauded for its ability to