Mass Culture

Are we being manipulated through our consumption of mass culture?

This was the major question of the sociologists of the Frankfurt School. They alerted society to the mass-produced and profit-driven low culture that has replaced colourful folk culture in the age of industrialisation. Their theories and sociological criticism were part of mass culture theory that we will discuss below.

• We will start by looking at the history and definition of mass culture.
• Then we will consider the features of mass culture.
• We will include examples of mass culture.
• We will move on to mass culture theory and discuss three different sociological perspectives, including the views of the Frankfurt School, the view of elite theorists and the postmodernism angle.
• Lastly, we will look at key theorists and their ideas on the role and influence of mass culture in society.

Mass culture history

Mass culture has been defined in many ways, by many different theorists in sociology, since Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer created the term.

According to Adorno and Horkheimer, who were both members of the Frankfurt School of sociology, mass culture was the widespread American 'low' culture that had developed during industrialisation. It is often said to have replaced agricultural, pre-industrial folk culture.

Some sociologists claim that mass culture was replaced by popular culture in postmodern society. Others argue that today 'mass culture’ is used as an umbrella term for all folk, popular, avant-garde and postmodern cultures.

Features of mass culture

The Frankfurt School defined the following main characteristics of mass culture.

Mass culture theory

There are many different views around mass culture within sociology. Most sociologists in the 20th century were critical of it, seeing it as a danger to ‘real’ authentic art and high culture as well as to the consumers, who are manipulated through it. Their ideas are collected within mass culture theory.

This theory of mass culture has been criticised by many for its elitist views of art, culture, and society. Others produced their own approaches to mass culture and its role in society.

The Frankfurt School

This was a group of Marxist sociologists in Germany during the 1930s, who first established the terms mass society and mass culture. They began to be known as the Frankfurt School of sociology.

They developed the idea of mass culture within the concept of mass society, which they defined as a society where the people - ‘the masses’ - are connected through universal cultural ideas and goods, instead of unique folk histories.

The most important figures of The Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School built their theory on Karl Marx’s notion of high and low culture. Marx thought that the difference between high culture and low culture is a significant one that needs to be highlighted. The ruling class states that their culture is superior, while Marxists argue (for example) that the choice between opera and cinema is a purely personal preference.

Once the people realise this, they would see that the ruling class forces their culture on the working class because it serves their interest in exploiting them, and not because it is in fact 'superior'.

The Frankfurt School found mass culture harmful and dangerous because of its ways of distracting the working class from their exploitation in capitalist society. Adorno and Horkheimer coined the term culture industry to describe how mass culture creates the illusion of a happy, satisfied society that turns working-class people’s attention away from their low wages, bad working conditions, and general lack of power.

Erich Fromm (1955) argued that technological development in the 20th century made work boring for people. At the same time, the way people spend their leisure time was manipulated by the authority of public opinion. He claimed that people lost their humanity and were in danger of becoming robots.

Fig. 2 - Erich Fromm believes that people lost their humanity in the 20th century and they are in danger of becoming robots.

Herbert Marcuse (1964) observed that workers have integrated into capitalism and become thoroughly mesmerised by the American Dream. By abandoning their social class, they have lost all resistant power. He thought that the state creates 'false needs' for people, which are impossible to satisfy, so they can keep people under control through them. Art has lost its power to inspire revolution, and culture has become one-dimensional.

Elite theory

Elite theorists of sociology, led by Antonio Gramsci, believe in the idea of cultural hegemony. This is the idea that there is always a leading cultural group (among all the competing ones) that determines value systems and patterns of consumption and production.

Elite theorists tend to believe that the masses need leadership in terms of cultural consumption, so they accept the culture created for them by an elite group. The main concern of elite theorists is to protect high culture from the negative influence of low culture, which has been established for the masses.

Main scholars of elite theory

Features of mass culture according to elite theorists

Criticisms of elitist theory

Mass culture in sociology: postmodernism

Postmodernists in sociology, such as Dominic Strinati (1995) are critical of mass culture theory, which they accuse of perpetuating elitism. They believe in cultural diversity and view popular culture as a very appropriate field for this.

Strinati argued that it is extremely difficult to define taste and style, which is different for everybody depending on their personal history and social context.

Popular culture

Instead of taking a critical or supportive stance, John Storey (1993) set out to define popular culture and analyse ideas of cultural theory. He established six different historical definitions of popular culture.