Popular Culture

The idea of popular culture originated from ‘The Frankfurt School’ who were a collection of Marxist Philosophers based in Germany in the mid-20^th century. They tried to maintain the power of the upper class by looking down on their under classes and by trying to distinguish themselves away from these classes through making themselves seem unique and important by the theories that they invented.

People from 'The Frankfurt School'

Theodore Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, musicologist and critique of society who was a leading member of the ‘Frankfurt School of Critical theory’. He is known for his views on thoughts on society and he believed that there were two kinds of people, those who like classical music who he referred to as ‘true art’ and then there are those who like popular music. He believed that the select few people who listened to ‘true art’ were educated and cultured and most of these people were of the middle and upper class. He also believed that everyone else all listened to popular music which he felt was all the same and repetitive which is why everyone listens to it, he also believes that those who listen to popular music are absorbed by popular music and easily influenced by it. These kinds of people were the lower classes of society which he looked down on in a sense.

Dick Hebdige is a British media theorist who has a more modern take on Adorno’s theory and believes that he is too negative. Hebdige’s believes that the mass audience isn’t as easily manipulated as Adorno makes them out to be and Hebdige also believes that the mass audience can choose from different genres of music what they want to ‘consume’, this goes against Adorno’s idea as Adorno believed that the mass audience all listen to popular music and consume it without thinking about it.

Examples of this can be seen in today's society on websites such as iTunes. On iTunes people can see what is in the charts and they are more likely to download/buy the music that is 'popular' at that moment in time. This can be related to Adorno's theory as people are more likely to download what is popular, however likewise with Hebdige's theory we can also argue that people can still choose what they download and consume as they have a mind for themselves and people of today's world are not easily manipulated by others choices.