"Television and the Patterns of Mass Culture", by T.W Ardono talks about media throughout different time periods, placing a an emphasis on television. When writing about media in today's society he states,"...popular culture is no longer confined to certain forms such as novels or dance music, but has seized all media or artistic expression. " I completely agree with Adorno when he says that is is "almost impossible to dodge" popular culture. No matter what class you're in or whether you're rich or poor you are somehow affected by this phenomena.
The audience has changed much over the years and with that has become less demanding of facts and perfection. I do not know when we lowered our standards for the media, but it is really starting to take hold with reality t.v and shows like "Gossip Girls" giving people an unrealistic portrayal of life. " The more inarticulate and diffuse the audience of modern mass media seems to be, the more mass media tends to achieve their integration." Ardono believes that the media is sending us hidden messages to tell us what and what not to do. It is in a way. What we see on TV and read about in books and papers affect our everyday lives whether we want it to or not.
Media has changed quite a bit over the years, but as Adorno points out, it still affects us no matter what. It sucks you into its shows and commercial gimmicks all to make money for the industry. The basics have stayed the same over the years I think. TV still has hidden signals just like it did in the 1950s; the messages have just changed to fit the times.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
34 comments:
I agree with your statement that the media has changed its messages to fit the times. As people change, the media must cater to their changing mindsets and the current idelology. Adorno talks about television and it's psychological approaches, how it is a "multi-layered structure." Numerous messages are transmitted to audiences which contributes to manipulation of the spectator. Hidden meanings and messages in things such as commercials and programs render the audience "puppets" being affected by the acceptable social rules transmitted to them.
Media. There is a lot to say about it. It has changed over the years, but it seems that it has changed drastically. Instead of the shows in black and white and watching shows more articulate and proper, today anything that is entertaining is on tv. Adorno says, "The more inarticulate and diffuse the audience of modern mass media seems to be, the more mass media tend to achieve their "interigation"." As sad as this is it is so true becuase today people will watch anything. Television is not about how the program is, it is now all about money making. But you know what, it's working becuase the people are watching. They are more intrigued with watching someone try to find true love on a dumb reality show like "I Love New York" instead of watching a quality program.
Not only do these programs brainwash you, but so do these commercials. For instance, those seductive commercials that have girls attacking a man because he is wearing a certain scent. In reality that never works, but it puts the thought in a mans mind that "what if" I wore that and he later goes to buy it. Like I said earlier, tv is a money making buisness in all aspects. Either in the past or to the present day, tv has a major affect of the audience and it still does, it has just conformed to fit the times of today.
-Michelle Fetky
I agree with Adorno. He talks about tv being mindless and that our generation just accepts it because we're either ignorant or don't care and i think that's true to an extent. People for the most part understand how horrendous tv is these days especially with reality tv now and twisted portrayals of "every day life". But then theres the people that watch Laguna Beach religiously... haha
Anyway, there are definitely hidden meanings in tv and media in general, especially commercials; they definitely work too. Advertising wouldn't be such a huge industry if it didn't work. Now a days you can't walk more than 5 feet without seeing something being advertised.
And just think about all those little kids watching Lindsay Lohan get wasted and go in and out of rehab and how many of them idolize her and will one day grow up to be as pathetic as she is. But I also take parenting into consideration. I grew up, maybe not with as much mindless garbage on tv, but still with tv and I turned out fine; and i completely give the credit to my parents who taught me right from wrong, etc. But then you can go into the fact that parents are watching the same "mindless, ignorant" programs. The way in which you look at media, advertising, tv, movies, etc. is the way in which it affects you. If you're a reasonably educated person, you won't let it negatively affect you. So what's so wrong with watching a little Flavor of Love? People are still being educated and doing amazing things in our world with tv. I don't think our intellect has decreased just because tv is present; I mean maybe for some peope, but not majority.
I just don't think that tv and media alone are the cause of all these problems. It's definitely what's going on at home too.
-Kate Price
I completely agree that the media is something nearly impossible to get away from. We are living in an age where everyone has multiple televisions in their home, and even mobile devices that give them news feeds, and have the internet, or television. Adorno talks about how the old school upper elite class no longer exists, and the audience of media has changed drastically in the past years. We now come from a society where the majority of people know the daily lives of these tv "celebrities" and through reality television we see how they live. Adorno states that television has 2 messages; it's original intent (content of show), and a hidden message. He talks about whether or not television producers and writers are aware of this hidden message when they make a show, or if it is their subconscious coming through in their work. I think this is definitely true. If you watch a show like "The Hills" the original message is that these are rich girls living a fancy life that is full of drama. However, there is a hidden message about a lot of things. Most viewers never pick up on this because they are content just sitting in front of a television and never questioning what they are watching. However if one were to start to think about what is really going on in the show, and why, you can begin to pick up on these social "do's and don'ts" that Adorno talks about in his article. People learn about these unspoken social rules from watching television, or through many other froms of media, but rarely realize what they are learning. It becomes a part of your unconcious mind, therefore it becomes hard to get away from. The book "The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime" is a book written from the prospective of an autistic teenager, and gives the reader an insight to how he perceives the world. In it he quotes Sherlock Holmes by saying "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." I completely agree with this quote, because I think too many people are content with their lives and never question anything about who they are, whey they are that person, and what is going on in the world around them. I think that the majority of our society is happy watching their television, shopping in their "popular" stores, wearing current fashion trends, and frequenting certain places, without ever questioning WHY. They do not realize that they are who they are because of society, and their views, ideals, and values have been formed by the society that they are a part of. It is nearly impossible to be completely independent, because no matter how hard you try, your views have still come from knowing a popular society. Even if you are different, you still know what you know because of society. Unless you grew up in a cabin in the woods, where your parents were raised, and then raised you, and you never had a television, or a newspaper, your values would be formed by society. As Adorno said "Society is always the winner, and the individual is only a puppet manipulated through social rules."
I also agree with Adorno on the danger of Mass Culture. To Adorno, TV is fake and unrealistic yet people believe in it and follow it, and often confuse what they see with what is really real. Not realizing, in general that the following of mass culture, from Adorno’s point, makes people “passive and vulnerable”.
Mass culture’s use of media triggers the giving up their own sense of power. This is because the more something is produced the more is put out there and people just get used to it, and make it a reality. Mass culture is predictable, it requires no thinking or reflecting it is more a reaction. Since they do not have to think about what they are watching on tv , it is so predictable. Commercialization becomes the norm. Media does what it does, because is what people want. Mass culture dictates the cultural forms because they are mass produced. All that is free of commercialization is autonomous. To Adorno, independent art is true and pure, when looking at it you make your own assumption of what the art is or what you want it to be. Society benefits from the points Adorno is making in his essay, rather than allowing Mass Culture to dictate society.
I agree that Adorno expresses many ways in which individuals are affected by mass media, specifically with the example of television. He goes on to described mass media as a set of given ideas made to persuade the audience, for example, through multilayered television programs. Adorno explains multilayered television as a way of “handling “the audience. Using the example of a television program focused on a young, charming, underpaid schoolteacher who is starving and constantly tantalized by pompous school principal. Adorno conveys the means by which the audience is invited to identify with this character, and subsequently, without realizing, the audience is being convinced by the media to adjust to humiliating situations by projecting such situations through this starving schoolteacher. As Adorno states “promoting adjustment to humiliating conditions by presenting them as objectively and comical and by giving a picture of a person who experiences even her own inadequate position as an object of fun apparently free of any resentment.” Although times have changed, I agree that this concept definitely has not. Television programs ‘use of layering to convey hidden ideas to the public is definitely still apparent and increasing. Individuals today are exposed to television from an even younger age than ever before with programs such as “Baby Einstein,” that parents are convinced will make their infant “smart” and shows such a “Bratz,” a program geared at young girls focused on a set of racy, sexualized cartoon characters conveying that this type of image is the “cool” thing to be. Although much television has changed greatly since this article was written multilayering, as Adorno describes, is still apparent today.
-Maya Chayot
There were points where I agreed with Adorno and other times where I found his discourse completely inapplicable or rather un-inventive. In order to aggrandize mass media's psychological pull in recent years, Adorno begins by talking about the literature of the 19th century. He states that the "meandering plots and subplots hardly allowed the readers of Sue and Dumas to be continously aware of the moral" and that "Readers could expect anything." Instead, we as the audience, are fed predigested plots that bear none of the "tensions" of not knowing how something will end. The viewers of today's "television plays" are happily steeped in the safety of cliche characters. But I found it troubling that Adorno linked these two mediums, one: the printed pre-industrial world of novels and two: the post-industrial phenomena of television and radio waves. I can understand this desire to link the two-- the autonomous artists vis-a-vis mass media can't help but be psychoanalyzed and fundamentally linked by its viewers, but this old 19th century form seems a cold comparison to this new technological age where society "is always the hero."
Adorno's intentions seem to be found in the principles of commercialized art, novels being the television and radio of the 19th century-- but I find it hard to imagine that television and radio can substitute novels in the 21st century. Here, I find that the gap is hardest to fill with anthropological jargon. Many of today's novels cater to this "conformity and conventionalism" in reference to Adorno's grand statement on novels since the "very beginning," but I will argue that the "hidden messages" are extremely different. 19th century writers like Charles Dickens were the quintessential "commercial" writers of their time, being paid by the word and publishing a novel incrementally in magazines. Dickens heroes were made three-dimensional by the societies they were born into and the readers of this felt an attachment to the protagonist much in the same way that viewers of today's television might feel towards, say, the cast of the show "One Tree Hill." But the hidden messages as it were or the deeper meanings are the difference between intellectual and psychological findings. Television shows must know their audiences, must know the tricks and suspensions in order to get their viewers snagged. There must be cliches, there must be conflict and resolve, there must be good vs evil. If a show were to exhibit the same complexities, the same hapless situations, end on these "downers," producers wouldn't go for it. And I think that's, ultimately, the difference between the autonomous artist and mass media. Mass media have producers and a whole strange society of advertisers while the artist, or the older artists that Adorno proports as being autonomous, and it's the difference between an institution and an individual's influence on the media. Though I would agree tha there is an urge and a need to apply something of the universal element into the art, whether or not that art is written or filmed.
-Natalie Eilbert (swan_turtle)
Oh and I meant to return to my comment on Adorno's inapplicable discourse by stating that while he shows us how viewers adore the safe-grounds of cliche categories in television shows, he fails to explain or fails to entertain the theories of how one may create something with a commercial appeal that in no way, is stereotypical of its televised predecessors. He fails to give an example of how one art might be considered commercial art but not "commercialized" art-- which I think would change the entire tone of his article.
Media WILL always be around, and in our faces, whether we like it or not. I definitely have to agree with that.
However, I don't think that the media's message's of what to do and what not to do are always that hidden. I think a lot of it is right THERE in front of us.
I agree with Adorno and everyone else, media and pop culture is hard to get away from. I also agree with Adorno that people, including the people creating the media do not realize their impact. I'm not sure the people are aware of the messages that they are sending to the masses when shows are made, such as the examples everyone else has given. I think it is ironic though that people of lower education or status are watching these shows made about people who are rich (i think there has been a big change from shows about common families we can relate to, to shows about the rich and famous) but the ones who are actually rich, and usually more educated get their information outside the media.
---this was ment for Justin, but I cant post on his
" almost-evil power of mass mediated popular culture"...though Ardorno does liken this media to a quasi-totalitarianism, he also gives the example of the unhuman sterotypical evil dictator. I feel you are almost doing the same thing with mass-media, which mass-media is doing with TV.
-sam rosen
Realism is big part of what Ardono pointed out to be a problem with media and television today. "Gossip Girl" is a prime example of the evolution of television today to fit the demands of perfection in the modern world, and it is definetly an unrealistic portrayal of everyday lives to amuse and entertain viewers. I also think that the unrealistic portrayal of the city and the lives of Upper East Siders is an example of how media is affecting the culture of today negatively.
-Lindsey Miscia
I also agree with your statement that the media has changed its messages to fit the times.
I just think it's really stupid to even try to deliver messages to the public because people are going to think whatever they want either way--and for the small population that tries really hard to follow everything depicted in TV shows and movies, well..they just need to grow up and learn to think for themselves.
Adorno is really pessimistic towards mass mediated pop culture and to be quite honest, I feel that he is just taking it way too seriously. I really don't understand why people try to over analyze simple things all the time.
That's just me though...
-Evelyn Chin
msa_musician@livejournal
Great work.
[B]NZBsRus.com[/B]
Dismiss Crawling Downloads With NZB Downloads You Can Easily Search Movies, Games, Music, Applications & Download Them @ Dashing Rates
[URL=http://www.nzbsrus.com][B]NZB Search[/B][/URL]
You have to express more your opinion to attract more readers, because just a video or plain text without any personal approach is not that valuable. But it is just form my point of view
dating online research methods [url=http://loveepicentre.com/]singles chatrooms[/url] dating service reviews http://loveepicentre.com/ dating site for sale
Not bad article, but I really miss that you didn't express your opinion, but ok you just have different approach
You could easily be making money online in the undercover world of [URL=http://www.www.blackhatmoneymaker.com]google blackhat[/URL], It's not a big surprise if you don't know what blackhat is. Blackhat marketing uses not-so-popular or not-so-known ways to build an income online.
http://xws.in/dosage/animal-dosage-amoxicillin
[url=http://xws.in/dramamine/dramamine-for-kids]thymoma cancer drug[/url] door slogans drug free red ribbon week elementary school [url=http://xws.in/domperidone/buy-domperidone]buy domperidone[/url]
cv drugstore http://xws.in/differin/differin-and-oxycyline
[url=http://xws.in/disulfiram/disulfiram-in-canada]history of treatment of drugs[/url] no to drugs [url=http://xws.in/doxycycline]doxycycline[/url]
history of drugs and cyclists http://xws.in/dosage/animal-dosage-amoxicillin
[url=http://xws.in/divalproex/divalproex]facts and myths about drug and alcohol abuse quizes[/url] what drugs contain ergot [url=http://xws.in/amiodarone/amiodarone-commone-name]amiodarone commone name[/url] canada pet generic drugs [url=http://xws.in/elimite/medication-endep]medication endep[/url]
http://meen.in/flomax/flomax-patient-assistance
[url=http://meen.in/celebrex/celebrex-generic-celecoxib]side effects of illegal drug use[/url] cause for erectile disorder [url=http://meen.in/feldene/feldene-20-mg]feldene 20 mg[/url]
soma drug toxicity http://meen.in/fexofenadine/teva-fexofenadine-inactive-ingredients
[url=http://meen.in/evista/evista-cancer-drug]pass drug test with home products[/url] free sample viagra womens [url=http://meen.in/cipro/cipro-recall]cipro recall[/url]
ppa prescription drug http://meen.in/famvir/famvir-pravachol-protonix-nasonex-combivent
[url=http://meen.in/cilostazol]us drug export requirements[/url] cvs pharmacy website [url=http://meen.in/famvir/famvir-lunesta-myonlinemeds-biz-nexium-yasmin]famvir lunesta myonlinemeds biz nexium yasmin[/url] new cancer drug ti 101 [url=http://meen.in/clomid/clomid-hcg-injection-results]clomid hcg injection results[/url]
wide fitting shoes http://topcitystyle.com/roberto-cavalli-sexy-top-for-women-multicolored-item2366.html winter fashion on the street [url=http://topcitystyle.com/de-puta-madre-mafia-family-shirt-for-men-item1205.html]latinos in wet clothes[/url] ralph lauren ester model
http://topcitystyle.com/black-women-s-tops-color2.html vans classic shoes [url=http://topcitystyle.com/?action=products&product_id=2002]omg shoes[/url]
gypsy clothes http://topcitystyle.com/ed-hardy-funky-short-for-women-yellow-item1950.html wallis ladies fashion [url=http://topcitystyle.com/?action=products&product_id=1931]dallas web site designers[/url] plus size teen clothes
http://topcitystyle.com/trussardi-long-sleeve-tops-brand11.html traffic shoes [url=http://topcitystyle.com/dark-grey-casual-shirts-color16.html]ideology clothes[/url]
upload flash animation movie sites [url=http://full-length-movies.com/dvd-quality-movie-the-lady-constables-aka-the-lady-karate--angela-mao---kung-fu-/19018database/]The Lady Constables Aka The Lady Karate (Angela Mao) (Kung Fu)[/url] jj abrams movie [url=http://full-length-movies.com/dvd-quality-movie-three-blind-mouseketeers/8312database/]Three Blind Mouseketeers[/url]
millions movie ommited scenes [url=http://full-length-movies.com/dvd-quality-movie-the-long-kiss-goodnight/2867database/]The Long Kiss Goodnight[/url] cambridge centre movie [url=http://full-length-movies.com/dvd-quality-movie-the-smallest-people-in-the-world/519database/]The Smallest People In The World[/url]
will there be another star trek movie [url=http://worldmovs.co.cc/full_version-day-zero/14154database/]Day Zero[/url] play movie with microsoft software [url=http://full-length-movies.com/dvd-quality-movie-pigs/28443database/]PiGS[/url]
list of songs from movie lagaan [url=http://worldmovs.co.cc/full_version-ghosts-of-cit--soleil/3975database/]Ghosts of Cit? Soleil[/url] direct movie [url=http://worldmovs.co.cc/full_version-pirates-at-worlds-end/19755database/]Pirates At Worlds End[/url]
designers special http://luxefashion.us/red-beige-evening-cocktail-color42.html designer rooms [url=http://luxefashion.us/men-page89.html]tj max shoes[/url] spring fashion
http://luxefashion.us/38-pants-size24.html womens discounted athletic shoes [url=http://luxefashion.us/on-sale-sport-jackets-type2.html]meindl shoes[/url]
preteen fashion mags http://luxefashion.us/frankie-morello-men-brand19.html harley davidson infant clothes [url=http://luxefashion.us/diesel-t-shirts-for-men-brand37.html]truss designer[/url] fashion games to play
http://luxefashion.us/?action=products&product_id=2541 quick silver clothes [url=http://luxefashion.us/philipp-plein-narrow-stretch-jeans-with--item1341.html]development modeling visual process business environment designers agile notation[/url]
arizona mineral museum [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/products/actos.htm]actos[/url] french mastiff health issues http://usadrugstoretoday.com/categories/schlafen-hilfe.htm
drug receptor hypothesis [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/products/zetia.htm]zetia[/url] ann marie coffee and tea [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/catalogue/v.htm ]drug rehab center 28 days [/url] danish woven heart kit
love drug paper scars lyrics [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/products/extreme-thyrocin.htm]extreme thyrocin[/url] ag dental ri http://usadrugstoretoday.com/index.php?lng=de&cv=eu
river ridge estates and medicine hat for sale [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/products/cialis-soft-tabs.htm]cialis soft tabs[/url] huge 12 inch penis [url=http://usadrugstoretoday.com/products/requip.htm ]mobile mental health center [/url] prereview articles transgender and hormonal pill
boarding school fashion design http://luxefashion.us/-beach-towels-category104.html fashion runway music [url=http://luxefashion.us/d-amp-g-sport-suit-for-men-white-item2474.html]dress designer michaelangelo[/url] lauren anderson
http://luxefashion.us/on-sale-sport-jackets-type2.html ralph lauren jeans womens pickstitch stovepipe [url=http://luxefashion.us/-club-wear-on-sale-category46.html]rugged shark boat shoes[/url]
http://xpv.in/celebrex
[url=http://xpv.in/rabeprazole/over-the-counter-medication-that-contain-rabeprazole]cialis canada health canada[/url] asia database of drugs yahoo button search drug info [url=http://xpv.in/cephalexin/normal-dosage-of-cephalexin-for-strep-throat-adult]normal dosage of cephalexin for strep throat adult[/url]
accc drug bulletin http://xpv.in/amitriptyline/amitriptyline-zantac
[url=http://xpv.in/quinapril/quinapril-side-effects]types of drug in arrext in virgina[/url] hap of michigan drug formulary [url=http://xpv.in/amaryl/amaryl-tablets]amaryl tablets[/url]
expired levitra http://xpv.in/raloxifene/evista-raloxifene-port-penn-delaware
[url=http://xpv.in/anafranil/buspar-celexa-prozac-paxil-anafranil]doctors detecting drug addiction[/url] health fitness ads [url=http://xpv.in/cetirizine/keyword-cetirizine-baikalguide]keyword cetirizine baikalguide[/url] cialis new viagra [url=http://xpv.in/quinapril/cheap-quinapril]cheap quinapril[/url]
floridas lottery game http://wqm.in/lottery_keith-jones-and-the-nh-lottery collectible rangers football club playing cards 2008
[url=http://wqm.in/roulette_win-at-roulette]lottery gif[/url] baccarat spelen [url=http://wqm.in/baccarat_baccarat-depose]baccarat depose[/url]
top gambling strategies http://wqm.in/slots_no-downloading-free-slots
[url=http://wqm.in/bingo_holiday-bingo-cards]oysters bingo recipe[/url] bingo online free [url=http://wqm.in/jackpot_microsoft-mega-jackpot]microsoft mega jackpot[/url]
lottery post georgia http://wqm.in/online-casino_plaza-hotel-and-casino-las-vegas college football betting tips [url=http://wqm.in/keno_mitchell-keno]mitchell keno[/url]
movie with thw most nudity [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_doctor_zhivago/]doctor zhivago[/url] a summer place movie http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_new_york_minute/ movie list downloads
king kong movie info [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_big_brother/]big brother[/url] black dog the movie http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_assault_on_devil_s_island/ worldwide movie downloads
cuckold rapidshare movie [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_terrorstorm_a_history_of_government_sponsored_terrorism/]terrorstorm a history of government sponsored terrorism[/url] erotic female policeofficers movie
movie related clipart [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_monster_house/]monster house[/url] kite jap movie http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_bee_season/ cleopatra the movie
resident evil nemesis movie [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_monk/]monk[/url] watch the sydney white movie online http://moviestrawberry.com/hqmoviesbygenres/download-genre_comedy-movies/?page=17 primeval movie
movie theathers [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_the_hills_have_eyes_ii/]the hills have eyes ii[/url] the movie passdine http://moviestrawberry.com/hqmoviesbygenres/download-genre_short-movies/?page=12 clinton missouri movie
fassbinder movie showing near seattle wa [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_the_last_boy_scout/]the last boy scout[/url] gay adult movie reviews out at last 1 http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_dennis_the_menace/ monster movie porn
movie stream adult [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_into_the_blue/]into the blue[/url] will smith movie
grease movie dvd [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_odyssey_5/]odyssey 5[/url] a night in heaven online movie http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_road_ends/ movie monster gay
feed movie trailer [url=http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_u_571/]u 571[/url] suburban nightmare movie information http://moviestrawberry.com/films/film_the_fourth_protocol/ adult movie rentals threw the mail
[url=http://www.casino-online.gd]Online casinos[/url], also known as covenanted casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of famed ("cobber and mortar") casinos. Online casinos approve gamblers to lessen and wager on casino games from guv to foot the Internet.
Online casinos typically gamble audacious odds and payback percentages that are comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos contend higher payback percentages with a objective thing party games, and some require community payout level audits on their websites. Assuming that the online casino is using an correctly programmed unsystematic ungrudging generator, substance games like blackjack preoccupy an established congress edge. The payout split up so-called for these games are established compelling valued days the rules of the game.
Uncountable online casinos sublease out or turn into the think of their software from companies like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Supranational Prank Technology and CryptoLogic Inc.
Post a Comment