The Culture Industry: Enlightenment As Deception
The Culture Industry: Enlightenment As Deception
The Culture Industry: Enlightenment As Deception
alization,
have led to cultural chaos is disproved every day; fore now
impresses the same stamp on eve! Fims, radio and magazines
mak" up' system whichii orm as a whole and in every part. Even \
the aesthetic activities of political opposites are one in their enthusiastic ?
obedience to the rhythm of the ion system. The decoratve industial
management buildings and exhibition centes in authprtarian countries
are much the same as anywhere else. The huge gleaming towers that
shoot up everywhere are outward signs of the ingenous plnning of
interational concers, toward which the unleaihed entrepren
urial
system (whose monuments are a mass of gloomy' houses and busmess
premises in grimy, spiritless cties) was aleady hastening. Even now the
older houses just outside the concrete cty centres look like slums, and
the new bungalows on the outskis are at one with the fimsy stuctures
of world fairs in thei praise of technical progress and their built-in
demand to be discarded after a short while le empty food cans. Yet the
city housing projects designed to perpetuate the individual as a suppos
"
.-. edly independent unit i a small hygienic dwelling make h all the
more subservient to his adversary - the absolute power of capitalism.
Because the ihabitants, as producers and as consumers, are drawn into
the centre in search of work and pleasure, all the living unts crystalze
into well-organized complexes. The stg unity of microcosm and
macrocosm presents men with a model of their culture: the false identty
of the general and the partcular. Under monopoly all mass culture}s
entical, and the lines of its artficial framework begtn to show througf.
le people at the top are g interested in concealing..mon-
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y as !s VOenc
-
b mOre OQen, sO !s _ wer grOw%OVes
andO need nOOnger Qre!end !Obe ar!. Je !ru!h!ha!!heyare us!
busness s made n!O an deOOgy n Order !O us!ly !he rubbsh !hey
debera!ey QrOduce. Jey caL !hemseVes ndus!res; and when !her
drec!Ors ncOmes are Qubshed, any dOub! abOu! !he sOca ut|ly Ol
!he nshedQrOduc!s sremOVed.
n!eres!ed Qartes exQan !he cu!ure ndus!ry n !echnOOgca
krms.!s aeged!ha! because mOns QarbcQa!e n!, cer!anreQrO-
duc!OnQrOcessesarenecessary!ha!neV!abyreQureden!caneedsn
mnumerabe Qaces !O be sabshed w!h den!ca gOOds. Jhe !echnca
cOn!ras! belween !he lew QrOduc!On cen!res and !he arge number Ol
wdey dsQersed cOnsumQbOn QOn!s i sad !O demand OrganZa!On
andQannngbymanagemen!.Im!hermOre,!i camed!ha!s!andards
werebased n !he hrs! Qace On cOnsumers needs, and lOr !ha! reasOn
wereacceQ!edw!hsO!!|eress!ance.Jeresu!s!hecrceOlmanQu-
abOnandre!rOac!Veneednwhch!heun!yOl!hesys!emgrOwseVer
smnger. "o,[QbOn i made e,! e u. c
qq |o __aqmrs_oy OVer socety_s_|gO _er Ol !hOse whOse
ecOnOc )OldsOce!yi grea!sQA !echnOOgca ra!Onae s !he
m!Onae Ol dOmna!On !sel. ! s !he cOercVe nalure Ol sOcety a|e-
na!ed hOm !sel. Au!OmObes, bOmbs, and mOVes keeQ !he whOe
!mng!Oge!herut !hereVeIngeemen!shOws!ss!reng!hn!heVery
wmng whch ! lur!hered. ! has made !he !echnOOgy Ol !he_lure
@JusO.m)e !han.the-cheVemen!_ Ol,s!andardza!On.and.mass_
.Qg}ucbOn, sacrhcngqeyr ved~a~ds!nc!Op_ en !he
g_cOl!hewOrkand!ha! Ol !he_ys!e_Jhss !heresu!nO!Ol+
aw Ol mOVemen! n !echnOOgy as such bu! Ol !s luncbOn n !Odays
ecOnOmyeed whch@gh!1)st,cCnuj ready,De0n
su__essed b_ !he !rt!e dac$ cOusness.e s!eQ
bOm!he!eeQhOne !O !he radO\as cearydsbngushed !he rOes. Jhe
lOrmer s! aOwed !he subscber!O Qay !he rOe Ol subec!, and was
bera|.rsJepg a!c:!luHsa_ar!g an!sn!Os!eners and
u!hOr!a!Vey subec!s !hem !O_brOadcas!__rOammes whch are a
e_ !he sape. ^O machnery Ol reOnder has been deVsed, and
pnVa!e brOadcas!ers are dened any heedOm. Jhey are cOnhned !O !he
aQOcryQha hed Ol !he ama!eur, and asO haVe!O acceQ! Organza!On
bOm abOVe. bu! any !race Ol sQOn!ane!y lrOm !he Qubc n Olhca
brOadcas!ngscOn!rOed and absOrbedby!aen! scOu!s, sludO cOmQe-
bbOnsand OlhcaQrOgrames Ol eVerykndseec!edbyQrOlessOnas.
1aen!edQerlOrmersbeOng!O!hendus!ryOngbelOre!dsQays!hem;
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otherwise they would not be so eager to ft in. The attitude of the publc,
which ostensibly and actually favours the system of the culture
industry, is a part of the system and not an excuse for it. If one branch of
art follows the same formula as one with a very different medium and
content; if the dramatic itrigue of broadcast soap operas becomes no
more than useful material for showing how to master technical problems
at both ends of the scale of musical experience - real jazz or a cheap
imitation; or if a movement from a Beethoven symphony is crudely
'adapted' for a flm sound-track in the same way as a Tolstoy novel i
garbled in a flm script: then the claim that this is done to satsf the
spontaneous wishes of the public is no more tan hot a. We are closer
ts_plain thphenomn_a ie!nt jt1eJ<nical
sonnapparatus which, down to its last cog, it fopirt c!
.e.. on.IeaniUelecton. In addition there i the agreement
produce or sanction anything that in any way differs from thei own
- or at least the determinaton - of all executve authorities not to
phere, hoe _
branches.a:e-thems_ eIEsJO.I9millY !terwoyel. All are in
such close contact that the extreme concentation of mental forces allows
demarc, lines between different frms and technical branches to b
ignored The ruthless unity in the culture industry is evidence of what
will happen i politiarked diferentatons such as those of A and B
flms, or of stories in magaznes in different price ranges, depend not so
much on subject matter as on classifing, organizing, and labelling
consumers.ething is provided for all so that none may escape; thE.
ftS.on.a.pegand.extendegj The public is catered for with
a hierarchical range of mass-produced products of varying quality, thus
advancing the rule of complete quantcation. Everybody must behave
(as i spontaneously) in accordance with his previously determined and
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indexed level, and choose the category of mass product tured out for
his type. Consumers appear as statistics on research organization charts,
and are divided by income groups into red, green, and blue areas; the
technique is that used for any type of propaganda.
How formalized te procedure is can be seen when te mechanically
df erentated products prove to be all alike in the end. That the df erence
between the Chrsler range and General Motors products is bsically
illusory stikes every cd with a keen interest in vaetes. wt connois-
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ntentuponreproduOngtheworIdoleverydaypercepnons), s nowthe
producers gudeIne. 1he more ntenseIy and awIessIy h technques
dupIcate emprcaI obects, the easer t i today lor the IIuson to
prevaIthat theoutsdeworIdsthestraghtlorardconnnuanonol that
presentedon thescreen. 1hspurposehasbeenmrtheredbymechancaI
reproductonsnce theIghmng takeover bythesoundIm.
, Rea[]u
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gWQ
ggha Dwmthemoves . 1hesound
lIm, lar suqassng the theatre ol IIuson, Ieaves no roomlor magn
atonor reecton onthepart olthe audence, whosunabIetorespond
wt the structure ol the lm, yet devate nom ts precse detaI
wthoutIosngthethreadolthestory, hencetheImlorcestsvcbmsto
equate t drectIy wth reaIty. 1he stunnng ol the mass
-
meda con
sumers powers ol magnaton and spontanety does not have to be
ttacedback toanypsychoIogcaImechasms,hemustascrbe theIossol
those attrbutes to the obectve nature ol the products themseIves,
especaIIytothemostcharacterstcolthem, thesoundlIm. 1heyares
desgned that quckness, powers ol observaton, and experence are
undenabIy needed to apprehend them at aII, yet sustaned thought s
out ol the queston l the spectator s not tomss the reIentIess rush ol
lacts. ven though the ellort requted lor hs response s sem
automatc, lta 1hose who are so
absorbedby theworIdolthemove- byts mages, gestures,andwords
- that they an unabIe to suppIy what reaIIy makes ta worId, do not
have to dweII on parncuIar ponts ol ts mechancs durnga sceenng.
AII the other Ims and products ol the entertanment ndust whch
they have seen have taught them what to expect, they react automan-
caIIy. Jhe mght ol ndusmaI soOety s Iodged n men's mnds. Te
entertanment$ manulacturers know that the_Qrods,&be c]-
umed w_aIrtnessevenwhp.the.custpper s dsnugh
or
eacgoI
\ them s a modeI ol the huge eom
-
mahqeh _\Iway8
sustand_tqeses
eveas th
_
attmssectet:
Obedence tO the scia etatchy. JOday aesthetcDarbarty cOmpetes
Wha1Dtmeatened1he crea tOsOlthe sQrtsncetheyweregathered
tOgether as cutut and neuttazed. JO sQeak Ol cutute was aways
cOnttaty tO cutute. Lututeasa cOmmOn denOmnatOt ateadycOntans
n embtyO that schematzatOn and QtOcess Ol cataOgung and cassh-
catOnwhchbrngcututewthnthesQheteOladmnsttatOn. Pndts
Qrecsey the ndusttaIzed, the cOnseguent, subsumQhOn whch en-
ttey accOtds wth ths nOhOn Ol cuture. by subOtdnatng n the same
way and tO the same end a ateasOl nteectua cteatOn, byOccuQyng
mens senses hOm thetme they eave thelactOty nthe evenng tOthe
tme they cOck n agan the next mOrnng wth mattet that beats the
mQtess Olthe abOut QtOcesstheythemseves havetOsustanthrOugh-
Out the day, ths subsumQtOn mOckngy satshes the cOnceQt Ol a
unhed cutute whch the QhIOsOQhers Ol QetsOnaty cOnttasted wth
mass cutute.
Jhe cutute ndustty QetQetuay cheats ts cOnsumets Ol what t
QerQetuay QtOmses. Jhe QtOmssOty nOte whch, wth ts QOts and
stagng, tdrawsOnQeasutesendessyQtOOnged;theQtOmse,whch
s actuay athe sQectace cOnssts Ol, s usOty: atactuaycOnhtms
s that the tea QOnt wl nevet be teached, that the dnet must b
satshed wth the menu. In hOnt Ol the aQQette stmuatedbyathOse
brIant names and mages thete s lnaysetnOmOte than a cOmmen-
datOn Ol the deQtessng evetyday wOtd t sOught tO escaQe. LlcOurse
wOtks Ol att wete nOt sexua exhbhOns ethet. Owever, by teQ-
tesentng deQrvatOn as negatve, theytettacted, as t wete, theQtOst-
tutOn Ol the mQuse and tescued by medatOn what was dened. Jhe
secret Ol aesthehc submatOn s ts teQtesentahOn Ol luhment as a
btOken QtOmse. Jhe cutute ndustty dOes nOt submate; tteQtesses.
by teQeatedy exQOsng the Objects Ol deste, bteasts n a cIngng
sweatet Ot the naked tOtsO Ol the athetc hetO, t Omy stmuates the
unsubmated lOteQeasute whch habtua deQrvatOn has Ong snce
teduced tOa masOchstc sembance. Jhete s nOetOhcstuatOn whch,
whIe nsnuatng and exctng, dOes nOt la tO ndcate unmstakaby
that thngs can nevet gOthat lat. Jhe ays Llhce metey cOnhtms the
rtua Ol Jantaus that the cutute ndustty has estabshed anyway.
WOtks Ol att ate ascetc and unashamed; the cutute ndustty s QOtnO-
gtaQhc and Qrudsh. LOve s dOwngtaded tO tOmance. Pnd, altet the
descent, much s Qetmtted; even cence as a matketabe sQecaty has
YWE COLYOWE 1MOOGYWN
its quota bearing the trade description '-daring'. The mass producton of
te sexual automatically achieves its repression. Because of his ubiquity,
te film star with whom one is meant to fall in love is fom the outset a
copy of himself. Every tenor voice comes to sound like a Caruso record,
and the 'natural' faces of Texas grls are like the successful models by
whom Hollywood has typecast them. Th haIis!1 reRroductipn of
galt,-bih reactonary cultural fanaticism wholeheartedly serves in .
it_Ietocal idolization oiduali!. T.;;r-fo 'that ll!-"
s iatwhl:h.was once essential.o beau!. The trumph over
beauty is celebrated by humour - the Schadenfeude that every successful
deprivation calls fort. There is laughter because there i nothing to
laugh at. Laughter, whether conciliatory or terrible, always occurs when
some fear passes. It indicates liberation either from physical danger or
fom the grip of lOgic. Conciliatory laughter is heard as the echo of an
escape from power; the wrong kind overcomes fear by capitulating to
te forces which are to be feared. It is the echo of power as something
inescapable. U is a medicinal bath. The pleasure industry never fails to
prescribe it. It makes laugter the instrument of the fraud practised on
happiness. Moments of happiness are without laughter; only operettas
and flms portay sex to the accompaniment of resounding laughter. But
Baudelaire is as devoid of humour as Holderlin. In the false society
laughter is a disease which has attacked happiness and is drawing it into
its worthless totality. To laugh at something is always to deride it, and
the life which, according to Bergson, in laughter breaks through the
barrer, i actually an invading barbaric life, self-asserton prepared to
parde its liberaton fom any scruple when the social occasion arises.
Suc a laughing audience is a parody of humanity. Its members are
monads, all dedicated to the pleasure of being ready for anything at the
expense of everyone else. Their harmony is a caricature of solidarity.
What i fendish about this false laughter is that it is a compelling parody
of te best, which is conciliatory. Delight is austere: res severa verum
gaudium. The monastic theory that not asceticism but the sexual act
denotes the renunciation of attainable bliss receives negatve confr
maton in the gravity of the lover who with foreboding commits h life
to the fleeting moment. In te culture industy, jovial denial taes the
place of the pain found in ecstasy and in asceticism. The supreme law is
tat they shall not satisfy their desires at any price; they must laugh and
be content with laughter. In every product of the culture industry, the
permanent denial iposed by civilization is once again unmistakably
demonstated and inficted on its victms. To offer and to deprive them