Research On Adorno’s Critical Theory Of Culture Industry

Theodor W.Adorno is one of the earliest representatives of Frankfurt School,and also occupies an important position in Western Marxism.The critical theory of culture industry put forward by Adorno is the most distinctive among his many theories.In Adorno’s view,the alienation of culture industry under the capitalist system had brought great influence on people’s production and life.Adorno tried to construct a kind of "non-identity" thought to reconstruct culture industry from the "negative dialectics".Undoubtedly,the critical theory of culture industry is highly relevant to the times.If the theory is confined to the specific background of the times,and blindly takes the critical attitude as the theoretical direction,its timeliness will be greatly reduced.So,what is the future direction of the theory? Facing this problem,it is very necessary to rethink the rationality of the theory and explore the future direction of the theory.Firstly,the paper analyzes the formation of critical theory of culture industry,defines the concept of culture industry,and discusses its specific historical background and profound theoretical origin;Secondly,explains the main contents of the theory: under the capitalist system,the culture industry is alienated,showing the characteristics of counterculture and non-popularity,and the manipulator behind it is the "identity" thinking mode.Adorno put forward the "non-identity" thought to criticize the "identity" in order to realize the reconstruction and redemption of the culture industry;Thirdly,this paper discusses the disputes about the theory in academic circles at home and abroad,focusing on questioning and maintenance,which shows the academic value and influence of theory;Finally,rethinks the gains and losses of the theory: although the theory has some limitations,it is undeniable that the theory is of great significance in getting rid of the confinement of instrumental rationality,promoting the return of cultural self-discipline and awakening the public’s subjective consciousness.On this basis,this paper tries to extend the theory to the realistic field,and from the perspectives of hardship and vision,continues to explore the future trend of the culture industry,and explores the constructive direction of the trend of the culture industry,so as to promote it to develop in a better direction.Using the comparative research method,this paper explains the main contents of the critical theory of culture industry and the connotation of culture industry;Using the method of historical research,discusses the disputes of scholars from all over the world about this theory;Using the method of combining theory with practice,explores the future trend of the culture industry.