Adorno and Horkheimer - 'The Culture Industry'

The Culture Industry Adorno and Horkheimer adopted the term 'culture industry' to argue the way in which cultural items were produced was comparable to how other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods. They argued that the culture industry formed an 'assembly line character' where everything was produced through the same routine which could be observed in the artificial, planned method of turning out its products. This theory relates largely to the popular programme The X Factor as it is a capitalist show that uses the 'assembly- line character' quite strongly as they seem to change the contestants to how they want them to be, changing their image and sound so when they are released into the music industry they fit in with all they other artists.

The X Factor  Today we looked at some of the contestants first auditions from this year, we acted as professionals within the media industry and had to look at each contestant and look at the different factors as if they were going to be put into the industry, judging:

-Their image

-Their voice

-Where and if they would fit into the music market

-If they are unique

-If they are marketable

-If they have a good personality

Auditions

Janet Devlin First Audition

-Unique

-Timid, shocks the audience with powerful vocals

-Good vocal range

-Good sense of style

-Appeals to a range of audience

Amelia Lilys First Audition

-Strong voice

-Marketable

-Can hit high notes

-Likeable

-Powerful

-Stage presence 

The Keys First Audition

-Adaptable

-Can sing acapella

-Risky

-Unique

-Appeal to women

The above were just a few examples of the auditions we judged as you can tell they are all quite different and I have different notes for each contestants. Now I am going to look at how The X Factor has changed previous contestants to how they want them to be. JLS are a prime example of this.

JLS If you follow JLS's journey through The X Factor you can see how they change as a group and how their image changes. This is all done by the programme which is evidence of how The X Factor fits into 'the culture industry'.

This is the first audition of JLS and you can see they are their own band they are singing their own songs and have styled themselves. However, you can tell as they got to the live shows it changed, they were styled and had songs chosen for them by their mentors.




Adorno and Horkheimer linked the idea of the 'culture industry' to the idea of a 'mass-culture' society in which cultural production had become a routine, standardized and repetitive process that produced undemanding goods that could be changed for money (commodities) which then resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardized, distracted and passive. The X Factor is seen as a 'Capitalist institution' which seeks to maintain control of the status quo. This is clear in the The X Factor if you follow the journey of JLS through the programme, you can see how they change in each element (style, sound).


(Capitalism - An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned or corporately owned).

You can tell JlS are still within their own band and in full control in their song at the judges houses stages. It's when they arrive at the live shows that they change and you can notice the difference.

Live Shows

This is one of JLS's performances at the live shows and instantly you can see how their image has changed and it is preparing them for when they are released as a band into the market. The show has changed them already.


Adorno and Horkheimer's view portrays that real talent is being corrupted by The X Factor so artists fit in to what they want or are looking for. Diluting real culture by gaining money from the show and changing all the contestants to a 'pop' artist. Although they do a different 'theme' every week they don't even use the artists talent once in the industry because they have to stick to what they have been put out as.




This is in the final show where the finalists each get to sing with a celebrity, JLS had the chance to sing with Westlife so they sung 'Flying without wings' this gives JLS the 'hype' of what it is like to be in the industry. 


Who's in control? The capitalist corporation like to have an almost omnipotent form of domination where the consumer and the artists are equal to and directly connected to this system of production. This shows the programme has control over the audience as well as the artist. Adorno and Horkheimer stressed the structures of economic ownership and control of the means through which cultural products are produced. Seem to reject everything that is not familiar.


Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the 'culture industry' operated in the same way as other manufacturing industries as everything is produced in the same routine. All work had been formalized and products were made according to rationalized organizational procedures that were only established for making money.


As you can see there are clear changes of JLS from their first audition to the present day with their latest songs where they are controlled in everything they do.


Merchandising
Merchandising is also a main factor of the process that JLS are taken through.