Theme 2: Critical Media Studies

1. What is Enlightenment?

During the mid seventeenth century stretching to the late eighteenth century, Europe and the western civilization went through a time era called “the Enlightenment”. “The thought” in the bourgeois society changed and a revolution took place in areas such culture, science and philosophy. Society started to question existing knowledge and develop new ways of thinking and the life of mankind. The birth of the “advanced though” appeared during this era and is the foundation of how we see the world today.

2. What is the meaning and function of “myth” in Adorno and Horkheimer’s argument?

Quoting the authors: “Myth is already enlightenment. And enlightenment reverts to mythology.” The meaning and definition of myth refers to the ancient stories, which are the foundation, the beginning, of many religions existing today. The myths are passed on from generation to generation and will live as long as mankind. According to Adorno and Horkheimer’s argument the myths shouldn’t just be passed by as stories, they contribute to enlightenment and act as a tool to maintain the development. In the future the enlightenment of today, may have converted to myths.

3. What are the “old” and “new” media that are discussed in the Dialectic of Enlightenment?
The ”old media” is presented as culture that’s not modified to fit the masses. The old cinema and theater that showed material in the way the producer wanted it to be, not to make the production companies happy for the purpose of making a box office success. If it was a tragic story it was a tragic ending, not modified to make the audience satisfied with a happy ending, like the tragic story of Hamlet. The purpose from the beginning was to tell a story, not to force a happy ending and all smiles.

The “new media” the authors define, for example, as the modern television and movies. The new kind of talent shows, produced to play on people's emotions and in the end, make commercial successes. The talents are there to make money for the corporations. Sometimes artistic quality may give way to commercialism.

4. What is meant by “culture industry”?

Most of the things that we as humans perceive in the society are filtered through what we call “culture industry”. Films, radio, television, magazines and the Internet are parts of our culture as we define it today. What producers, editors and journalists want to show is their definition of the world we’re living in. The information we receive is approved by those people and may be a reflection of reality or a modified version to fit the norms and rules of the society. The authors wrote the following “Their ideology is business”, which I interpret as critique to the modern culture industry. The economic gains are often a more important force than informative qualitative content.

5. What is the relationship between mass media and “mass deception”, according to Adorno and Horkheimer?

Mass media is an expression used very commonly today and includes: radio, television and newspapers/magazines. “Mass deception” according to my interpretation of the texts is the way mass media negatively use their power to try to control people. The relationship between mass media and “mass deception” therefore is how “the truth” we, as citizens, perceive may have been modified or censored for different reasons. What we perceive in our everyday life is the “truth” or “knowledge”, predetermined by people who runs profit-driven companies that may not only have good intentions. The content produced by mass media is in the manner of “one size fits all”, and it’s best to satisfy as many people as possible. So what we see may not be “the truth and nothing but the truth” and instead it’s a mass deception to us as citizens.

6. Please identify one or two concepts/terms that you find particularly interesting. Motivate your choice.

The authors use the term “barbarism” in different discussions in the texts. I find it interesting, as well as the authors, that in some way in our modern society we still lean towards barbarism which we should have left behind a long time ago. Human civilization went through “the Enlightenment” as mentioned earlier, and still incidents occur that in many ways belong more in the definition of barbarism. Mankind should have developed the thoughts, ideas and ideological views during the era of enlightenment to advance from the previous definitions of civilizations. When I say this I have in mind all the ongoing wars in the world, discrimination and racism to mention a few examples. The barbarism shouldn’t win over the important revolution mankind went through during the seventeenth and eighteens century.