Mass Culture Of Frankfurt School Critical Theory

The Frankfurt school’s mass culture critical theory in western Marxism theoryoccupies an important position. Giving an interpretation of this critical theory, can notonly deep our understanding of capitalism, but also provide the effective reference forproblems arise in our country’s cultural construction. This article begin with theanalysis of its emerge background, then give the carding and research about thecharacteristics of the theory, and summarize the valuation of the critical theory at last.This paper is divided into four parts:The first part, introduce the emerge background of the Frankfurt school in socialand theoretical sides, then analyze the theory of the social and theoretical source,providing a necessary preparation for understanding mass culture critical theory.Mass culture critical theory is produced under the complicated social background.Theorist of Frankfurt school not only experienced the German dictatorship, but alsowitnessed the rapid development of cultural industry. They are acutely aware that nomatter in what kind of social environment, the rulers will use the popular culture tocontrol people’s thought.In theoretical sources, Marx’s theory of alienation, Lukacs materialization theoryand Freud’s psychoanalysis are the guide for mass culture critical theory. Reveal of thetheorists of Frankfurt school about the mass culture’s commercialization,standardization, fraudulence and control, come from the inspiration of this theory.The second part, set forth the relationship between critical theory of mass cultureand social critical theory of Frankfurt school. The thought of Frankfurt school focuseson a series of critical theory. If we want to interpret mass culture, we must understandthe relationship between this theory and other social critical theory.First we start from understanding of "mass culture". Starting from the coreconcept of "mass culture", analysis of the "public","culture","popular culture","cultural industries" and other words in specific meaning in the theory of the Frankfurt school, and the Frankfurt school how to perfect the theory gradually, finallyforms a critical theory of the system.Then analyses the relationship among the mass culture criticism, instrumentalrationality critique, ideological criticism, and personality psychological criticism. TheFrankfurt school critical theory is an organic whole, nowhere is not reflect theconsanguineous relationship with other theories. The theorist of Frankfurt school,regard mass culture as a tool of capitalist society. It through its intangible culturalinfiltration, to control the public’s consciousness, psychological. The autocratic rule,though not as good as Germany, but is hidden and not easy to detect.The third part, expounds the essence of the concrete in mass culture. Namelyaccording to the commodity characteristics of mass culture, standardization, deceptiveand controlling the concrete elaboration. This part is a detailed interpretation of massculture critical theory, also the center of this paper.Of understanding commercial mass culture, Frankfurt school theorists believethat because of the development of capitalism, capitalist in order to pursue moreprofits, mass culture products become a tool of making money. Capitalists throughvarious means such as advertising to induce consumers, make consumers becomeslaves of consumption.Understanding of the standardization of mass culture, the Frankfurt schooltheorists argue that the pursuit of the interests of capitalists, leads to the emergence ofa large number of standardized products. While when cultural works of art aremanufactured and sale as a kind of standardized products, the products of massculture are no longer strictly a work of art. It lost not only the art of individuality, butalso the art features such as vividness, creative, aesthetic, eventually led to massculture product is just a standardized product in front of people.Understanding of the deceptive about mass culture, Frankfurt school theoristsargue that the development of science and technology forcefully support the massculture’s diversity. All kinds of entertainment products make people drunk in all sortsof false happiness. While mass culture through language, promise, making distancewith the mass closer, winning the mass, allowing people to give up resistance to reality, being obedient to the order now.Understanding of controlling in mass culture, the Frankfurt school theorists arguethat ruler through mass culture to control every aspect of people’s life, and throughvarious means to meet the demand of people’s false, weakening the people’s emotions,and using of psychological techniques to strengthen the control of people cleverly.The fourth part, any theory is not perfect, include merit and shortcoming. Thispart makes an objective and fair comments about the Frankfurt school’s mass culturecritical theory, and my own views about the deficiency and positive significance of it.In terms of its limitations, the author thinks that the Frankfurt school of theoristsoverstates the controlling of public cultural products, and overlooked the critical massand subjectivity. Because of the theorists’ thought of elitism, leading them only to seethe negative side of the mass culture, not to see that under the social background atthat time, mass culture brings rich audio-visual experience, is also a kind of progress.In addition, it also makes there theory exist a defect because of their mass culturecriticism is too extreme.In its positive aspect, research in culture angle about the mass culture criticaltheory broadens our research perspective in capitalist society. Our country now in theperiod of great development of the cultural industry, having a research about the massculture critical theory, has an important guiding role for we reduce difficult in thedevelopment of cultural.