Ivan 10/29 reflection Adorno Horkheimer

The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception

As stated in class, Adorno and Horkheimer have pointed out that as one product or subject advances, several successors arise all promoting their differences while hiding their similarities. During class, I used toothpaste as an example of how the new products all stem from the same basic need and upon more reflection, I came to understand that the desire for the faster and stronger product would not be possible without the consumer backing. As a product continues to expand, there is little room to make bigger changes so in order to counteract the slow progress, the smaller new traits are magnified and presented as revolutionary. Every new product must be flashy and must give off the illusion of happiness. The mass population must be deceived into believing that the only path to happiness is through this new product. If a product can convince an individual that the majority of the population believes in that particular subject, the individual will feel pressured to conform, "entertained means to be in agreement" (64). An individual will stand in line more times than they will risk standing out because society tends to punish those who stir up too much change.