Mass Culture as an Instrument of Domination
Ideology and Hegemony
Ideology According to Giddens
A set of shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Ideologies exist in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities between groups. Ideological systems serve to legitimize the power held by the group difference.
According to Marx
Ideology is a masking of reality, especially the socioeconomic reality of the relations of production and purposes of the ruling class, to serve the interests of that class. For Marx, the material conditions of life determine consciousness; however, the ruling classes can impose their ideas on the working class, which is what is called “false consciousness.” This ideological distortion in the dominated classes can be done basically through three mechanisms:
- Representation as universal interests, values, or aspirations of the ruling class.
- Presenting social objectives as normal or natural and not as historically constructed.
- Presenting as autonomous, abstract products of labor and social practice.
According to Althusser
Althusser, who follows in the footsteps of Marx, sees the function of ideologies as reproducing the social relations of reproduction, i.e., the classes that lead remain hegemonic. Ideologies construct imaginary relationships in which people must live and help to obscure things as they really are. Along with the repressive apparatus of the state, this hotel has specialized institutions to disseminate and impose the dominant ideology. These are the ideological state apparatuses. They are social institutions that are independent of the state but contribute to transmitting that ideology.
Hegemony (Gramsci)
Domination occurs through ideas, persuasion. The central idea is that class domination is exercised not only by the imposition of force but through the creation and maintenance of symbolic space. This is a field of socially shared ways in which different classes can be recognized without conflict. Gramsci differentiates between civil society, forming institutions such as schools, unions, etc., and the state or political society, formed by the government, courts, army, and police. Civil society is the one that exercises hegemony. Intellectuals here would have a central role as creators who would refine and disseminate the vision of the world of the ruling class. The media would also have a key role in this process of cultural hegemony of elites.
Mass Culture (Frankfurt School)
The principal authors were Marcuse, Horkheimer, and Adorno. The birth of this school is associated with the creation of the Institute for Social Research in 1923 (Frankfurt University). In 1933, many members migrated to the U.S. After World War II, some returned to Europe. It was influenced by Marxism and Freudian psychoanalysis. This school associated mass culture with consumer culture. Culture responds to the economic needs and reproduction of capitalism. It placed great emphasis on the role of advertising as a central practice of mass culture companies. These authors understood that the media operate as a company within the logic of capitalism and that they treat culture as if it were merchandise. The media, then, would be in the hands of the ruling classes, who use them to defend their interests. Thus, these media have a crucial role in the transmission of ideology and social reproduction.
Concepts Developed by These Authors
Cultural Industry
Adorno and Horkheimer coined this term in a text called “Dialectic of Enlightenment.” This concept refers to all companies and institutions dedicated to the production of culture for profit. It includes music, theater, radio, newspapers, and publishers. The cultural industry transforms culture, which produces rigid mentalities and psychic homogeneity, and it also produces two issues of concern to these authors, which are the falsity of culture and the fact that commodification has a cooling and dumbing effect.
Pseudo-Culture
It is a super-ideological structure of advanced industrial society. It considers the new cultural model (based on values and ideologies created by the mass media) and pays great attention to advertising. Pseudo-culture involves the fragmentation of content, uniformity of messages, homogenization of the public, selection of values, and morals as the foundation of success, determining latent authoritarianism.
One-Dimensional Society
It talks about the irrationality of rationality.
Types of Rationality
Formal Rationality
Fitness of the means for any particular purpose. It uses the best means without regard to justice, that is, fitness is the most effective means for any purpose.
Substantive Rationality or Reason
It involves the evaluation of the means in terms of fundamental human values of justice, peace, and happiness.
Marcuse
He said that modern technology, as a form of rationality, is a means of domination. He also said that the commodification of culture creates a man without critical ability.
The Frankfurt School
It notes that mass culture is generated by the mass media.
April Gonzalo
Indicates that this question is limited because it understands mass culture as the result of the media. The media generate and transmit the values and myths that make up the culture.
Ecological Hypothesis of Mass Communication
The media constitute the fundamental context of symbols and representations of contemporary cultures, i.e., the media convey values that determine culture. The interactions of everyday life, legacy practices, institutions, and social movements make up the media ecosystem.